BMV Web Shows Branch Waits

A new web site from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (http://www.in.gov/bmv/statistics/branches.htm) shows that wait times at the Warsaw license branch are the worst in the Q101 area… at an average of 29 minutes during April. Wait times at the Columbia City and Huntington branches were only a minute shorter. The shortest waits in the Q101 area were at the Wabash branch, which averaged 17 minutes.

State Makes Flu Pandemic Info Available

State officials have started steps to inform Hoosiers about the danger of a flu pandemic. Several agencies cooperated on a new web site, fluinfo.in.gov, which will serve as a clearing house for timely and accurate information. Nine state agencies have also come up with a skeleton plan to deal with a pandemic. They expect the first draft of a more complete plan to be ready in about 45 days. Officials estimate that if a mutated form of the bird flu were to infect 35 percent of Hoosiers, six thousand people would die.

Q101 Radio Recovers from Lightning Strike

The New Q101 returned to full power this morning, after operating on a reduced-power auxiliary transmitter since a lightning strike April 12. Our station primarily serves Warsaw, Columbia City, North Manchester, South Whitley and other parts of Kosciusko, Whitley, Wabash and Huntington Counties. Our signal can also be heard in adjacent areas, including parts of Fort Wayne. Engineers installed a modern, newly-manufactured full-power transmitter overnight. The new transmitter went on the air just before 6 a.m. after the station was off the air completely for a brief period to switch connections from the auxiliary transmitter.

The New Q101 General Manager Chris Larko said, "Our new transmitter is providing an even better signal than its predecessor did before the lightning strike. It is equipped with modules that allow us to transmit even better-sounding music and to assure that we are transmitting as much signal as our federal license permits."

When lightning struck Q101's tower in southeastern Kosciusko County April 12, it damaged the our former main transmitter beyond repair. We remained on the air with an auxiliary transmitter that operated at about five percent of Q101's normal power until a new transmitter could be purchased, delivered and installed. In addition to its on-air signal, we broadcast via this web site.