A local radio broadcaster with around a half-dozen outlets in the Midwest is selling off his stations ahead of his retirement.
Dave Crooks, the president and owner of DLC Media, will sell his three Indiana-based radio stations to 3 Towers Broadcasting and another three stations in Illinois to JKO Media, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
“I am ready to slow down and knock more items off my bucket list,” Crooks said in a statement. “It’s been a great ride. I am confident I am leaving the stations, staff, and the communities they serve in good hands.”
Crooks says the two sales should close by May. The sale was first reported by local television station WTHI (Channel 10, CBS).
The six stations that will be sold are:
- WAKO-FM (103.1 FM)
- WAKO-AM (910 AM)
- WAMB-AM (1130 AM)
- WAXI (104.9 FM)
- WFNB (92.7 FM)
- WVIG (105.5 FM)
Three FM translators are also included in the deal: W257DW (99.3 FM), W258BA (99.5 FM) and W295CQ (106.9 FM). W257DW will be sold to 3 Towers Broadcasting, while the other two will be acquired by JKO Media.
Crooks started his career in 1980, when he was just 16 years old. He amassed a small collection of radio stations in those two states. In 2016, Crooks served as the President of the Board of Directors for the Indiana Broadcasters Association.
In addition to his broadcast duties, Crooks served as an Indiana state representative from 1996 to 2008.
