If you turn your radio to 100.5, there won't be very much there anymore. Yorkton's Christian radio station The Rock is now at 98.5, a new protected frequency, and with that comes an upgrade to 50,000 watts. The station officially launched the new frequency last week.
Dennis Dyck says that the upgrades to the station's broadcasting ability is the culmination of a dream that began back in 1984.
"It's a unique format, but it's also been a long journey, because there aren't many Christian radio stations around, there definitely aren't any 50,000 watt Christian radio stations in Saskatchewan... I guess anyone that has a dream that goes to bed thinking about it and wakes up thinking about it can relate, it's nice to see it become a reality," Dyck says.
The Rock 98Five is now the largest Christian radio station in the province, and Dyck says that it makes sense for the area.
"Yorkton is a regional community, the retailers in the community depend on the surrounding trading area, and the radio station needs to reflect that," he comments.
Dyck says that among the different radio stations in the area, all offer something different to the consumer. He says the Rock stands out because its programming will always be family friendly, as well there is a talk show to engage a wide variety of community groups, a daily trading post program, and other programming to react to the needs of the community.
"This is a community that has become more diverse, so we run Filipino programming once a month, we do Aboriginal programming, we do Ukrainian programming. What that means is people in the area that were covered by the 50 watt station have been telling people outside of the area, and there are those who have wanted to hear that programming and are now able to... A lot more people will be able to hear this unique format, which is great."
Keeping the programming in tune with the needs to the community is something Dyck says is a priority, and he uses the Filipino Hour as an example of how this works. He says that looking around the community, one can see the Filipino community growing, so that hour of programming twice a month was developed to respond to their needs, which might not be met otherwise.
He also says that the station wouldn't be possible without the listeners, and he says that with the upgrades the station will be better able to serve them, along with people they wouldn't have been able to reach with just a low power station.
"We have a very loyal fraternity. When I'm asked to describe our listenership, it's an audience that gets larger all the time, because people pick up on the unique things we do, and they're very loyal," Dyck concludes.
