Kat Country 98.9

What Kat Country 98.9 does

Kat Country 98.9 (KTCO) is a country music FM radio station broadcasting at 98.9 MHz in Duluth, Minnesota, founded in 1974 and operated by Midwest Communications, Inc., a privately held, family-owned broadcaster headquartered in Wausau, Wisconsin. The station serves the Duluth-Superior Twin Ports and broader Northland region of Minnesota and Wisconsin with country music programming, local news, weather, and community event coverage. Its distribution footprint spans the over-the-air FM signal plus a multi-channel digital product surface: native iOS and Android mobile apps, web streaming on katcountry989.com, smart speaker skills for Amazon Alexa and Google Nest, Apple HomePod support via iHeartRadio, and listings on TuneIn, all built on the SoCast digital platform.

The station generates revenue exclusively through advertising sold to local and regional businesses; there is no subscription, paywall, or direct consumer pricing. Commercial inventory includes on-air spots, digital advertising, and event sponsorships across a portfolio of owned or co-produced community events including Fourth Fest, Bike Nights, Movies in the Park, Concert in the Corn, and We Fest coverage. Sponsor and partner rosters span banking (Old National Bank, Bernick's), construction (Lakehead Constructors, Iron Ridge Metal Roofing), venues and government (DECC), entertainment production (Lundeen Productions), retail (Guardian Shooting Range), and agriculture (White River Ag Products), indicating a diversified SMB advertiser base.

Ownership is private and family-held; an FCC transfer-of-control application was filed in January 2023 transitioning the broadcast license from Duey E. Wright to a successor group including Mary K. Ross, Michael Wright, Jeffrey Wright, Peter Tanz, and Paul Rahmlow. Headcount is 11-50, consistent with a single-station operation under a multi-station parent. No venture capital, private equity, or institutional funding structures are evident, and financial metrics (revenue, profitability, cap table) are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Kat Country 98.9

Legal name

Midwest Communications, Inc.

Website

https://katcountry989.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kat Country 98.9 (KTCO) is a privately held country music FM radio station broadcasting at 98.9 MHz in Duluth, Minnesota, serving Northland listeners with local news, weather, events, and country music, and monetizing exclusively through local advertising and event sponsorships under parent Midwest Communications, Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Terrestrial Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Radio Station Groups (Owned & Operated/Station Chains) (MPABACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ), Internet Radio & Streaming Broadcast Stations (Simulcast/Online-only) (MPAIAEAE)

Keywords

• Country radio broadcasting
• FM radio station
• Radio advertising sales
• Community event broadcasting
• Local radio streaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Duluth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Radio Advertising: The station generates revenue by selling advertising spots to local and regional businesses. Advertisers can reach the station's listening audience through on-air commercials and digital advertising opportunities. The station markets itself to potential advertisers highlighting radio's reach: nearly 93% of adults 18+ listen to radio in a week, and 96% of people listen Monday through Friday with 93% staying through commercial breaks.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kat Country 98.9 (KTCO) is a country music radio station broadcasting on 98.9 FM in Duluth, Minnesota, delivering live country music programming, local news, weather, sports coverage, and community event information to listeners in the Duluth/Superior Twin Ports region. The station monetizes its audience through on-air and digital advertising sold to local and regional businesses, and distributes its content across FM broadcast, website streaming, mobile apps, and smart speakers.

Product overview

Kat Country 98.9 is a country music radio station broadcasting on 98.9 FM in Duluth, MN, operated by Midwest Communications, Inc. The station's digital product portfolio centers on its core over-the-air FM broadcast, complemented by multi-platform digital offerings including the KAT Country mobile app (iOS/Android), live web streaming via katcountry989.com, smart speaker integrations (Alexa/Google Nest), and a weather service. The station also provides news content, event listings, and podcast programming. The digital ecosystem is built on the SoCast platform, with streams available through TuneIn and iHeartRadio aggregators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Old National BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of Fourth Fest 2026, America's 250th Birthday Celebration at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth.
• Lakehead ConstructorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Fourth Fest 2026 celebration event.
• DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Fourth Fest 2026.
• Lundeen ProductionscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent production partner and organizer of Fourth Fest 2026. Also listed as sponsor and vendor contact for the event.
• Greater Downtown CouncilcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-organizer of Movies in the Park outdoor movie series at Leif Erikson Park. The station promotes the free weekly event.
• IMONminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Movies in the Park event series.
• Bernick'sminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Bike Nights with KAT Country events at Powerhouse Bar in Proctor, MN.
• Guardian Shooting Range & Training FacilityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Bike Nights events.
• Iron Ridge Metal RoofingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Bike Nights events.
• Soo Pass RanchcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue partner for WE Fest coverage. WE Fest is one of the largest country music festivals in the US, held at Soo Pass Ranch in Detroit Lakes, MN.
• White River Ag ProductscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVenue host of Concert in the Corn festival in Mason, WI. Station promotes the annual event featuring country music headliners.
• SoCastcoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital platform provider for website hosting, streaming, event calendar management, mobile apps, and station management systems.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cox Media Group: Cox Media Group operates radio and television stations across US markets. It is a broad incumbent peer in the broadcasting space with overlapping FM radio operations, advertising sales, and local event/community programming analogous to KTCO's country format.
• Townsquare Media: Townsquare Media operates local radio stations and digital properties across small and mid-sized US markets. It is a strong comparable because it focuses on the same small-to-mid market radio segment as KTCO, with country formats and local event/community engagement strategies mirroring Kat Country 98.9's approach.
• iHeartMedia: iHeartMedia is the largest US radio operator with hundreds of stations plus the iHeartRadio streaming platform. It is comparable as a broad incumbent operating local FM stations with multi-platform distribution, advertising sales, and event sponsorship—directly overlapping Kat Country 98.9's business model at much greater scale.
• Salem Communications: Salem Communications operates radio stations and digital media platforms across the US. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in radio broadcasting, particularly in smaller and mid-sized markets, with advertising-supported programming similar to Kat Country 98.9.
• Cumulus Media: Cumulus Media is a major US radio broadcasting company operating hundreds of stations across multiple markets. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the same radio broadcasting category with multi-market scale, advertising revenue model, and digital streaming offerings analogous to Kat Country 98.9.
• Beasley Media Group: Beasley Media Group operates radio stations in multiple US markets with both traditional broadcast and digital streaming. It is comparable as a mid-sized broad incumbent running local FM stations with multi-platform distribution, advertising revenue, and event/community engagement similar to KTCO.
• Audacy: Audacy (formerly Entercom/CBS Radio) is a major US radio broadcaster with a large station portfolio and the Audacy streaming app. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in radio broadcasting with advertising sales and digital distribution that mirrors KTCO's structure at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Alpha Media: Alpha Media is a US radio broadcasting company operating stations across multiple markets with a focus on local content and community engagement. It is highly comparable to Kat Country 98.9 as a direct peer operating similarly-sized market radio stations with advertising-supported business models and digital streaming extensions.
• Midwest Communications: Midwest Communications, Inc. is the parent company of Kat Country 98.9 and operates radio stations across the Upper Midwest (IL, IN, MI, MN, WI). Its sister stations under the same ownership and operational structure make it the most direct comparable peer, sharing back-office, sales, and digital infrastructure with KTCO.

Others

• TuneIn: TuneIn is an internet radio streaming aggregator that distributes audio streams from thousands of stations including Kat Country 98.9. It is an ecosystem participant/enabler for KTCO's digital reach, providing smart speaker and mobile app distribution rather than competing directly for local advertising.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KTCOFM
• Facebookfacebook.com/98.9KTCO
• Instagraminstagram.com/kat989duluth

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kat Country 98.9