Civic Media’s Civic Basin Media LLC has filed its purchase of the Pritchard Broadcasting Corp., Titan Broadcasting LLC, and Galesburg Broadcasting Company stations with the FCC.

The complex deal is split into three purchases. Civic Media will pay $100,000 for the six stations in Iowa held by Pritchard Broadcasting and the five Illinois stations held by Galesburg Broadcasting and $3.2 million (all in a promissory note) for the two stations owned by Titan Broadcasting. A third deal for the Pritchard family’s interests in River Park Place Realty LLC, which owns the office building shared by both companies in Burlington, does not need to be filed with the FCC, but a $200,000 deposit was placed in escrow for it. The Titan purchase includes some tower properties, while Galesburg does not.

As part of its waiver to go over the ownership cap request, Civic Media states that should the waiver not be approved it will surrender the licenses of Classic Rock “KQ92” 92.1 WQKQ-FM Dallas City IL and CHR “Hot 97.3” KHDK New London to remain under the ownership cap as they are not economically viable as a standalone operation. Those two and Classic Hits “Z106.1” WZIE Abingdon in the Galesburg market are being withheld from the immediate Time Brokerage Agreement for the remainder of the stations involved in the deal.

Also in the waiver request, Civic Media President Sage Weil pledges to maintain studios and staff in Burlington and Galesburg, continue to air an equivalent number of local newscasts each weekday on KBUR and WGIL as currently air on those stations, provide severe weather and emergency information, including Mississippi River flood coverage, in coordination with county emergency management, carry local high school sports and community programming, and invest in the stations’ facilities, including the addition of digital streaming and a mobile app to allow the local audience to more easily engage with the stations. All of those are things that Civic likely would do regardless as they do in their other markets.

Original Report 10/13: Civic Media is continuing its growth beyond Wisconsin with the purchase of thirteen stations and three translators in two markets from the Pritchard family for an undisclosed amount.

The stations currently operate under the Pritchard Broadcasting Corp., Titan Broadcasting LLC, and Galesburg Broadcasting Company names. John T. Pritchard operated the Pritchard Broadcasting and Galesburg Broadcasting stations until his passing in August. His son LJ Pritchard owned two of the Burlington stations under the Titan Broadcasting name since 2007.

Galesburg General Manager Roger Lundeen said, “While we are sad to see the end of the Pritchard family’s long-standing media legacy in Galesburg, joining Civic Media brings valuable resources for our team and a shared commitment to our local community. We look forward to investing in Galesburg, strengthening our commitment to local information, community involvement, and helping the businesses we serve grow and succeed.”

Civic Media owner Sage Weil said, “These stations have earned an important place in their communities through relationships they have built with listeners, local businesses, and community organizations. We recognize the value of those local connections and look forward to building on that foundation as we expand our presence into these markets. Listeners can continue to look to these stations for familiar programming, and advertisers can continue to look to these stations to provide opportunities to partner in their growth.”

He continued, “We are excited about these stations in Southeast Iowa and West Central Illinois joining our growing portfolio of hometown radio. Across our footprint, we are committed to covering the stories most relevant to the markets we serve. We believe radio plays a crucial role in our local communities and we look forward to supporting the teams at Titan Broadcasting, Pritchard Broadcasting Corporation, and Galesburg Broadcasting Company in fulfilling that role.”

The stations included in the sale are:

Burlington IA: Classic Rock “KQ92” 92.1 WQKQ-FM Dallas City IL, AC 93.5 KKMI Burlington, CHR “Hot 97.3” KHDK New London, Country “101.7 The Bull” KBKB-FM Fort Madison, Country “Big Country 103.1” KDMG Burlington, “The New Mix 107.3” KGRS Burlington, “Fox Sports” 1360 KBKB/104.5 K283CK Fort Madison, and News/Talk 1490 KBUR/99.3 K257GC Burlington.

Galesburg IL: Rock “92.7 The Laser” WLSR Galesburg, Country “FM 95” 94.9 WAAG Galesburg, AC “105.3 KFM” WKAY Knoxville, Classic Hits “Z106.1” WZIE Abingdon, and News/Talk 1400 WGIL/93.7 W229BO Galesburg.

Civic Media recently announced its pending acquisition of NRG Media’s stations in Waterloo IA.