KIMT
Encyclopedia
KIMT is the CBS
-affiliated television station
for the Driftless Area of North Central Iowa
and Southeastern Minnesota
. Licensed to Mason City, Iowa
, it broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 42 (virtual channel
3.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter near Meyer, Iowa
(between Stacyville
and McIntire
) south of the Minnesota
state line. The station can also be seen on Charter
and Mediacom
channel 3. There is a high definition feed offered on Charter digital channel 784 and Mediacom digital channel 803. Owned by New Vision Television
, the station has studios on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Downtown Mason City and a sales office on East William Street in Downtown Albert Lea, Minnesota
. Syndicated
programming on KIMT includes Wheel of Fortune
, Jeopardy!
, Dr. Phil, and The Dr. Oz Show
among others.
affiliate on a second
digital subchannel
. Known on-air as My 3.2, this can also be seen on Mediacom digital channel 103 and Charter digital channel 391. Syndicated programming on KIMT-DT2 includes How I Met Your Mother
, My Name Is Earl
, Everybody Hates Chris
, and Star Trek: The Next Generation
along with others.
On KIMT-DT3 is a 24-hour local weather channel currently not seen on any digital cable
systems. Programming on this service consists of a rotating cycle of forecast maps and current conditions with audio from NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards
. Each day early in the morning, KIMT-DT2 simulcasts the weather channel with this extending for a longer period on weekends.
as KGLO-TV owned by Lee Enterprises
along with the GlObe Gazette and KGLO radio (AM 1300
and FM 101.1). On the station's first day, reception of its analog signal on VHF channel 3 was reported as far away as Gary, Indiana
. The original effective radiated power
of 100,000 watt
s was the maximum amount permitted on the heritage allotment. It was affiliated with CBS but also carried a secondary relation with DuMont
until 1956 when the latter ceased operations. In August 1977, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) ruled that one company could not own all the media outlets in a city forcing Lee Enterprises to break up its cluster in Mason City.
As a result, KGLO-TV was sold to BY Communications in 1977 and renamed KIMT (standing for Iowa/Minnesota Television). In 1980, it was sold again to the Shott family of Bluefield, West Virginia
and their Daily Telegraph
Printing Company. However, in 1984, they sold KIMT and WBTW
in Florence, South Carolina
to Spartan Radiocasting Company (later to become Spartan Communications) giving this station its third owner in eight years. Spartan later merged with KIMT's former owner Media General
in 2000. Its digital signal on UHF channel 41 launched in May 2002 and added high definition capabilities from the network during that summer. KIMT celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 15, 2004 with flashbacks and other special programming.
On April 6, 2006, Media General announced it would sell KIMT as part of the company's acquisition of four NBC
owned-and-operated station
s. On August 2, New Vision Television made public it had bought KIMT and sister station WIAT
in Birmingham, Alabama
for $
35 million. That company's acquisition of the two outlets was finalized on October 12, 2006. As part of the analog to digital transition in 2009, the station opted to keep its analog channel on-air until the revised June 12 deadline. After the transition (which occurred at 12:12 p.m.), KIMT planned to continue using digital channel 42 and filed paperwork with the FCC to eventually increase that signal's output power from 200 to 800 kW which would more effectively fill its coverage footprint. Early in the morning on June 27, 1995, KIMT news anchor Jodi Huisentruit
was abducted outside her apartment while on her way to work. She has not been found and the case remains unsolved to this day.
with some parts in full high definition. Although not truly HD, the aspect ratio
matches that of high definition television screens. Video reports from the field are still seen in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition.
Also at some point that year, KIMT added three newscasts to its MyNetworkTV-affiliated subchannel. This included a half-hour extension to its weekday morning show at 7 (known as My Morning News on My 3.2), a repeat of the thirty minute weekday noon broadcast at 12:30 (called KIMT News 3 Midday on My 3.2), and prime time newscast weeknights at 9 (known as My Primetime News at 9). Eventually, the half-hour weeknight show was reduced to a five minute cut-in featuring an updated weather forecast.
In late-2010, KIMT-DT3 launched as a full-time 24-hour local weather channel. Previously, KIMT-DT2 had carried this service during overnight sign-off periods. On March 20, 2011, rival NBC
affiliate KTTC
in Rochester upgraded its local news to full high definition becoming the first outlet to do so. Unlike most CBS affiliates, KIMT does not air a full two-hour weekday morning show on its main channel. Therefore, My Morning News on My 3.2 can be considered the additional half-hour.
Storm Team 3 Meteorologists
Sports
Reporters
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the Driftless Area of North Central Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Southeastern Minnesota
Southeast Minnesota
Southeast Minnesota is the corner of Minnesota south of the Twin Cities metropolitan area extending east, and part of the multi-state area known as the Driftless Area. Rochester is the largest city in the area; other major cities include Winona, Owatonna, Faribault, Northfield, Austin, and Red...
. Licensed to Mason City, Iowa
Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
, it broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 42 (virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
3.1 via PSIP) from a transmitter near Meyer, Iowa
Mitchell County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 10,776 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,850 housing units, of which 4,395 were occupied.-2000 census:According to the U.S...
(between Stacyville
Stacyville, Iowa
Stacyville is a city in Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 469 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Stacyville is located at ....
and McIntire
McIntire, Iowa
McIntire is a city in Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 173 at the 2000 census.-Geography:McIntire is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
) south of the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
state line. The station can also be seen on Charter
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
and Mediacom
Mediacom
Mediacom is a cable television and communications provider in the United States. Founded in July 1995, it serves primarily smaller markets in the Midwest and Southern United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600.0 million transaction in March 2011 and is, as of 2011,...
channel 3. There is a high definition feed offered on Charter digital channel 784 and Mediacom digital channel 803. Owned by New Vision Television
New Vision Television
New Vision Television is a broadcast company based in Los Angeles, California. The company owns or manages 18 television stations in medium sized markets.-New Vision I:...
, the station has studios on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Downtown Mason City and a sales office on East William Street in Downtown Albert Lea, Minnesota
Albert Lea, Minnesota
Albert Lea is a city in and the county seat of Freeborn County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 18,016 at the 2010 census....
. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on KIMT includes Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, Dr. Phil, and The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
among others.
Digital programming
The station operates the area's MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate on a second
KIMT-DT2
KIMT-DT2 is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Driftless Area of North Central Iowa and Southeastern Minnesota. The station is a second digital subchannel of CBS affiliate KIMT owned by New Vision Television...
digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
. Known on-air as My 3.2, this can also be seen on Mediacom digital channel 103 and Charter digital channel 391. Syndicated programming on KIMT-DT2 includes How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, and Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
along with others.
On KIMT-DT3 is a 24-hour local weather channel currently not seen on any digital cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
systems. Programming on this service consists of a rotating cycle of forecast maps and current conditions with audio from NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. It is operated by the NWS, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the United States Department of...
. Each day early in the morning, KIMT-DT2 simulcasts the weather channel with this extending for a longer period on weekends.
| Channels (virtual/physical) | Name | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Video | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1/41.1 | KIMT-HD | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
main KIMT programming/CBS (HD) |
| 3.2/41.2 | KIMT-DT2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | KIMT-DT2 "My 3.2" (SD) |
| 3.3/41.3 | KIMT-DT3 | 480i | 4:3 | KIMT-DT3 "KIMT 24/7 Weather Now" (SD) |
History
The station signed-on for the first time on May 15, 19541954 in television
The year 1954 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1954.-Events:*January 1 – NBC broadcasts the Rose Parade in NTSC color on 21 stations.*January 3 – RAI launched in Italy....
as KGLO-TV owned by Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 54 daily newspapers in 23 states, and more than 300 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by A.W. Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa....
along with the GlObe Gazette and KGLO radio (AM 1300
KGLO
KGLO is a radio station licensed to serve Mason City, Iowa. The station is owned by Three Eagles Communications and licensed to Three Eagles Communications, Inc. It airs a News/Talk radio format. The station aired an adult contemporary format during the 1980s.The station's call letters reflect...
and FM 101.1). On the station's first day, reception of its analog signal on VHF channel 3 was reported as far away as Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
. The original effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 100,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s was the maximum amount permitted on the heritage allotment. It was affiliated with CBS but also carried a secondary relation with DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
until 1956 when the latter ceased operations. In August 1977, the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) ruled that one company could not own all the media outlets in a city forcing Lee Enterprises to break up its cluster in Mason City.
As a result, KGLO-TV was sold to BY Communications in 1977 and renamed KIMT (standing for Iowa/Minnesota Television). In 1980, it was sold again to the Shott family of Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
and their Daily Telegraph
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph is seven-day morning daily newspaper based in Bluefield, West Virginia, and also covering surrounding communities in McDowell, Mercer and Monroe counties, West Virginia; and Bland, Buchanan, Giles and Tazewell counties, Virginia .The weekly Princeton Times, covering...
Printing Company. However, in 1984, they sold KIMT and WBTW
WBTW
WBTW is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Pee Dee and Grand Strand areas of South Carolina that is licensed to Florence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter southeast of Dillon on Pee Dee Church Road. Owned by Media General, the station...
in Florence, South Carolina
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...
to Spartan Radiocasting Company (later to become Spartan Communications) giving this station its third owner in eight years. Spartan later merged with KIMT's former owner Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
in 2000. Its digital signal on UHF channel 41 launched in May 2002 and added high definition capabilities from the network during that summer. KIMT celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 15, 2004 with flashbacks and other special programming.
On April 6, 2006, Media General announced it would sell KIMT as part of the company's acquisition of four NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
s. On August 2, New Vision Television made public it had bought KIMT and sister station WIAT
WIAT
WIAT, virtual channel 42, is the CBS-affiliated television station in the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston/Gadsden, Alabama television market. Licensed to Birmingham, it broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 30, although through the use of PSIP, the station's virtual channel number is...
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
35 million. That company's acquisition of the two outlets was finalized on October 12, 2006. As part of the analog to digital transition in 2009, the station opted to keep its analog channel on-air until the revised June 12 deadline. After the transition (which occurred at 12:12 p.m.), KIMT planned to continue using digital channel 42 and filed paperwork with the FCC to eventually increase that signal's output power from 200 to 800 kW which would more effectively fill its coverage footprint. Early in the morning on June 27, 1995, KIMT news anchor Jodi Huisentruit
Jodi Huisentruit
Jodi Sue Huisentruit was a television news anchor for KIMT, based in Mason City, Iowa in the United States. She disappeared in the early morning hours of June 27, 1995 and is believed to have been abducted. She was 27 years old at the time.-Early life:Huisentruit grew up in Long Prairie, Minnesota...
was abducted outside her apartment while on her way to work. She has not been found and the case remains unsolved to this day.
News operation
Since KIMT is licensed to Mason City, there has traditionally been a focus on the state of Iowa compared with the market's other stations which are based in Minnesota. On June 12, 2009, KIMT became the first outlet to upgrade newscasts to 16x9 enhanced definition widescreenWidescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
with some parts in full high definition. Although not truly HD, the aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
matches that of high definition television screens. Video reports from the field are still seen in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition.
Also at some point that year, KIMT added three newscasts to its MyNetworkTV-affiliated subchannel. This included a half-hour extension to its weekday morning show at 7 (known as My Morning News on My 3.2), a repeat of the thirty minute weekday noon broadcast at 12:30 (called KIMT News 3 Midday on My 3.2), and prime time newscast weeknights at 9 (known as My Primetime News at 9). Eventually, the half-hour weeknight show was reduced to a five minute cut-in featuring an updated weather forecast.
In late-2010, KIMT-DT3 launched as a full-time 24-hour local weather channel. Previously, KIMT-DT2 had carried this service during overnight sign-off periods. On March 20, 2011, rival NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate KTTC
KTTC
KTTC is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa. Licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Ostrander, Minnesota near the Fillmore and Mower County line...
in Rochester upgraded its local news to full high definition becoming the first outlet to do so. Unlike most CBS affiliates, KIMT does not air a full two-hour weekday morning show on its main channel. Therefore, My Morning News on My 3.2 can be considered the additional half-hour.
Newscast titles
- Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
(1980s–1990s) - KIMT NewsChannel 3 (1990s–2006)
- KIMT News 3 (2006–present)
News team
Anchors- Jenna Lee - weekday mornings
- Sarah Danik - weekday mornings and noon (also producer weekdays at noon)
- Gwen Siewert - weeknights at 4 and reporter
- Amy Fleming - weeknights at 4 and 5 (also health reporter)
- Matt Bradley - weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 (also Sundays and "Ask The Expert" segment producer)
- Natalie Tendall - Saturdays and reporter
Storm Team 3 Meteorologists
- Adam Frederick - Chief seen weeknights
- Jim Politis - Assistant Chief seen weekends, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Four
- Kay Schaefer - weekdays at Daybreak and noon
Sports
- A.J. Ellingson - DirectorSports DirectorA sports director is an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. In local news, the sports director is typically the station's primary sportscaster, and often anchors the primetime newscasts on weekdays. They are in charge of sports programming and...
seen weeknights at 6 and 10 - Matt Biermann - weekends and reporter
Reporters
- Jaime Copley - News DirectorNews DirectorA news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network or a newspaper who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, copy writers, television producers,...
and "Forever Families" segment producer (also occasional fill-in news anchor and reporter) - Beth Tuttle - "Golden Apple" segment producer
- Jon Theuer - photojournalist
- SaVannah Reading
- Raquel Hellman
- Tyler Mickelson
- Shane Delaney