The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Larry H. Miller Group has acquired Sports “97.5 The Zone” 1280 KZNS/97.5 KZNS-FM Salt Lake City from the SLC Divestiture Trust I.

Miller, owner of the NBA Utah Jazz, currently LMA’s Sports “1320 K-FAN” KFNZ from Cumulus though the Tribune reports that lease will expire at the end of this month. As part of the deal, programming from both stations will be combined on 1280/97.5 though no deals have been finalized. KZNS will become the Jazz’ flagship station. An LMA will start immediately along with a lease of 960 KOVO Provo from Simmons Media to continue simulcasting the The Zone.

The Larry H. Miller Group also operates KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City. The SLC Divestiture Trust I was one of two trusts setup following the merger of Simmons Media and Millcreek Broadcasting. It still retains Variety Hits “103.1 Jack-FM” KJQN Coalville, 103.9 KUDE Nephi, 105.1 KAUU Manti, 105.3 KDWY Diamondville WY to be sold off.

Clear Channel AC “Lite 95.1” KLQT Albuquerque has flipped to CHR as “Channel 95.1“.

The station joins a crowded CHR market that already includes Cumulus’ 93.3 KKOB and American General Media’s “OMG 106.7” KDLW on the Mainstream end and Univision’s “Kiss 97.3” KKSS and American General Media’s “Power 106.3” KAGM on the Rhythmic side.

Clear Channel has agreed to purchase Alternative 101.7 WFNX Boston for an undisclosed price.

The station which had been co-owned with the Boston Phoenix newspaper has carried an Alternative Rock format since April 1983. It will now join a Clear Channel cluster of “Talk 1200” WXKS, Spanish AC “Mia 1430” WKOX, Rhythmic CHR “Jam’n 94.5” WJMN, and CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM.

Not included in the sale are the WFNX intellectual property and archives. The Boston Business Journal reports that 17 of 21 WFNX staffers have already been let go including middayer Julie Kramer and morning news anchor Henry Santoro. The Phoenix retains WFNX simulcaster 92.1 WFEX Peterborough, NH for now at least.

Owner Stephen Mindich released the following memo to the Phoenix regarding the sale:

Dear Members of the PM/CG Family:

Because this is an emotional announcement to make, let me cut right to the chase.

This morning I met with the staff of WFNX to announce the pending sale of the station to Clear Channel Communications.

Over the years, WFNX has done spectacular things. Since 1983 the station has played an historic role in bringing new music to audiences in and around Boston. We introduced Nirvana and Pearl Jam to wider audiences in 1991. Together with the Boston Phoenix we staged the notorious Green Day concert at the Hatch Shell in 1994. Three years later, FNX and the Phoenix organized a group reading and broadcast of Allen Ginsberg’s controversial poem Howl, featuring talents as varied as rocker Peter Wolf and Poet Lauriat Robert Pinsky, along with civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate and me. We’ve formed creative partnerships with local museums and many other important not-for-profit organizations such as the AIDS Action Committee. In addition, for years we broadcast One In Ten, the only program on a commercial radio station in the nation dedicated to the issues and lifestyles of the GLBT community. And throughout it all, FNX has continued to break new music, most recently the work of Foster the People, Fun, and Gotye — to name just three.

Here comes the catch….

Despite its celebrated history, its cutting edge programming , its tradition of breaking new music, its ardent fans among listeners and advertisers, for some time it has been difficult to sustain the station — especially since the start of the Great Recession.

And that is why the station is being sold.

The mechanics of the situation are this:

WFNX will the file the paperwork necessary to trigger the license transfer with the Federal Communication Commission later today.

WFNX will remain on the air during the time it takes to complete the FCC process.

Events and concerts — such as the Best Music Poll (June 13th) and the Seaport Six (June 14th) — will take place as scheduled.

The best place to get news about the last round of FNX happenings will be to stay tuned to the station itself.

In closing, let me salute the scores of immensely talented and dedicated staff who sold the ads, promoted the events, programmed and played the music, and did so many other things that made WFNX a national force in modern rock and — most important of all — a force, an outlet, and a sponsor for the music that defined Boston for nearly 30 years. It was a great run and I will miss the station.

Thank you all,

Stephen M. Mindich

James Ingstad continues to shuffle the programming at his recently acquired AM’s in Washington State.

News/Talk 1340 KJOX Kennewick has flipped to Sports “ESPN 1340“. The station will simulcast the programming of Bonneville’s “710 ESPN” KIRO Seattle from 9am to 6pm daily and ESPN Radio the remainder of the day along with Seattle Mariners baseball, Washington State University football and basketball, and Gonzaga basketball.

Concurrently sister 960 KALE Richland drops Fox Sports Radio for Classic Country.

The KJOX calls were moved to 1340 in February when it was swapped with the KTCR calls that were moved to 1390 in Yakima. That station flipped from ESPN Radio to Classic Country “The Tractor” at that time. The ESPN programming concurrently moved to Townsquare Media’s 1460 KUTI in Yakima.

Cumulus has applied to move 106.7 WYAY Gainesville/Atlanta into Atlanta proper.

With an application pending to change its city of license to Sandy Springs, Cumulus has applied to shift the station’s transmitter to Atlanta and a frequency adjustment to 106.5. The station would operate with 100kW at 299 meters with directional lobes to the northeast and southwest. The move will necessitate a frequency shift at Cumulus’ 106.5 WSKZ Chattanooga where an application is forthcoming and Clear Channel’s 106.3 WQBZ Fort Valley/Macon which applied last month to move a few miles to the south. WYAY is on the verge of a format change to News “All News 106.7” and someone already squatted on AllNews1065.com earlier today.

Clear Channel’s 97.5 WAMZ Louisville has applied to move its transmitter from the south side of the city to the east side. While remaining at 100kW, the move will see a height drop from 205 to 157 meters.

On the other side of Kentucky, LM Communication’s 107.9 WBTF Midway has applied to move closer to Lexington. The change will convert the station from a rimshot into the market into having city grade coverage over the western half of the city. The new facility will stay at 6kW but see a height drop from 100 to 86 meters.

In order to facilitate the recent purchase of two Pensacola stations, Cumulus’ 104.1 WABD Atmore, AL has been granted a city of license change to Saraland, AL. The change puts the station completely into the Mobile market for FCC purposes.

Clear Channel has been granted a CP to slide 102.5 WJKX Ellisville, MS into the Hattiesburg market. The new signal will operate with 11.4kW at 256 meters.

Cumulus’ 105.1 KCJK Garden City/Kansas City has been granted a CP that will see that station increase from 69 to 72 kW while dropping from 349 meters to 346 meters at the same tower.

Townsquare Media has been granted a CP to double the power of AC “98.3 The Key” KEYW Pasco, WA. The station will go from 12.5 to 25kW while retaining the same 304 meter tower height. The station will adjust from a C2 to a C1 classification in the process.

Public Radio Capital’s 91.7 KXOT Tacoma, WA will drop its “KUOW2” NPR News/Talk programming on June 29.

The station had been operating under an LMA to Puget Sound Public Radio, the operating name for the University of Washington’s 94.9 KUOW Seattle. The station states Public Radio Capital’s loan made to purchase the station from Bates Technical College in 2005 recently went into default and the bank will be taking over operation of the station. KUOW declined to use its option to purchase KXOT in 2009 and its contract to operate it has been running on a month to month basis since July 2011.

KUOW2 programming will continue to be heard on 94.9 KUOW-HD2 and online.

91.7 has a Construction Permit that will see it convert from a C2 to C1 while moving its transmitter from Tacoma northwest to near Bremerton. It will operate with 4.3kW at 582 meters while putting a city grade signal over parts of downtown Seattle.

A shift in programming from Spanish Adult Hits to a Caribbean flavored Salsa format appears to be in the offing for Entravision’s “Jose 98.1” WNUE Orlando.

Salsa981.com was registered by the company back on February 28, but has begun to come alive this weekend with elements from Jose981.com. WNUE would be following in the footsteps of SBS’ 92.3 WCMQ Miami which shifted to Salsa “Z92” on April 1.

The Orlando market is 28% Hispanic and home to the largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Florida. WNUE, despite being a rimshot targeting the market from the east coast of Florida, is one of three Spanish language FM’s along with Clear Channel’s “Rumba 100.3” WRUM and TTB Media’s “KQ 103” WHKQ which debuted last August.

Meyer Broadcasting Soft AC 101.3 KTXR-FM Springfield, MO tweaked its format to Mainstream AC on April 30.

The previous format billed as “Timeless Love Songs” was a blend of Soft Oldies mixed with Neo-Jazz from artists like Norah Jones, John Mayer, and Renee Olstead. The new format is a more traditional AC mix of 80′s through currents with a sliver of the previous music remaining. It is now positioned directly against Clear Channel’s 105.9 KGBX.

Meyer Broadcasting also owns News/Talk 560 KWTO, Standards 1060/99.9 KBFL, and Sports “Jock 98.7” KWTO-FM in the Springfield market.

SBS’ Spanish CHR “Latino 96.3” KXOL Los Angeles has rebranded as “96.3 LA’s Party Station“.

DJ Laz, the longtime morning host at Beasley’s “Power 96” WPOW Miami will debut on Monday morning at 6am. Currently the station is running jockless with English sweepers promoting Laz’ debut. The music mix is now about 60/40 English to Spanish. SBS registered LA963FM.com and LA963Radio.com for the station last week. It should also be noted that Univision’s 101.9 KSCA Los Angeles began using the “LA 101.9” moniker last year.

How long will it be until Laz is carried by one of SBS’ Miami stations as well?

Forever Communications and Grace Broadcasting Services are swapping stations in the Jackson, TN market.

Forever will acquire what is currently Christian “The Dove” 97.7 WTGP Trenton, TN in exchange for News/Talk 105.3 WTJW Humboldt and $525,000. The deal give Forever the better signal as 97.7 is a 50kW Class B, while 105.3 is a 4.7kW Class A.

Forever also owns 1390 WTJS/94.1 W231BU/94.3 WTJW which also carries the “TJ Network” News/Talk format along with 105.3, “Rock 92.3” WYNU, and Country “Froggy 104.1” WOGY.

Grace Broadcast Services also owns Christian Preaching “Good News 93.1” WWGM and Standards “Memories 1500” WTNE in the Jackson market.