There's always music in the air. At least, if you're tuned to 107.5 FM and you're in the Browning area, it's nearly guaranteed you'll be hearing a steady stream of classic country music. Day or night, 24-7, KBWG is the "Voice of Browning."

"It was first designed for emergency broadcasting," said Browning Mayor Willie Morris Monday, March 19. "It was a very small station that was nailed to a piece of plywood with emergency and weather reporting." Nearly a hobby, the tiny piece of equipment went through a personality change when the mayor applied for a grant from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program last year and netted the city around $10,000 to upgrade the station. "We went from a piece of plywood by way of the internet to where we now have a fully functional station," Morris said. "This year we broadcast two basketball games, one in Lewistown and the divisional tournament." Although Morris wanted to offer live broadcasts from the state tournament in Belgrade, he said the law prevents low power stations from getting those contracts, a situation he said should be changed.

"It's so simple, a kid could run it," said Browning Mayor Willie Morris about the control center of Browning's low-power radio station. A simple computer teams up with a mixing console to provide streaming classic country music, an open microphone, or a live remote feed from a sporting event. Photo by John McGill

"We're working to get that law changed," said Morris. "Now we're about $1,000 short of having the ability to do remote broadcasting." While the station borrowed the necessary equipment to make its two sports broadcasts this season, "now we're pretty much restricted to the studio." Basically, the station needs a transceiver and a PC to send their signal to Browning via the internet, or they can send the news out by cell phone.

The internet now provides the classic country sounds heard nearly all the time at 107.5. "We have contracts with companies for any kind of music," said Morris. "Now we're broadcasting older country music because years ago people really liked it. We can download it from the internet, or by satellite. My mom and my uncles played that kind of stuff."

The mayor would like to expand the station's offerings, and is approaching local businesses to underwrite some shows. While the Browning City Council is happy with western music, Morris said they'd also like to broadcast local Browning football games. "I'm also looking at grants for programs for a word of the day or week in Blackfeet to teach the language over the radio, but the station itself makes no money," Morris said.

The action is completely automated in the studio at City Hall. "It's simple; yet it's technically driven." Computers, a microphone, mixing console and a couple monitor speakers are about all there is to the setup.

The station is currently limited to only 35 watts of broadcasting power, which makes the signal difficult to hear toward Cut Bank, Heart Butte and points north of Browning.

"We'd have to solicit the FCC for a booster system or for a directional repeater system," something the mayor doesn't think is likely to happen. "We lucked out in getting our license," he said. "There are very few in the state."

But Morris has hit upon an idea that might bring Browning radio a little closer, not only to Reservation residents, but also to the world. Morris said a person came into City Hall one day, wanting to know how he could get Browning radio into his workshop at home in Kalispell. "Now I'm thinking about piping it through the City's website," he said.