WMOM goes silent

[Wonder Woman]

It seems we no longer have the option to "Always listen to your Mom" as WMOM went silent on April 1. Mason County Press reported that it was not an April Fool's Day joke and the station is legitimately off the air.

The WMOM Sport Team Facebook page made the following post:

Mr. Patrick Lopeman, WMOM owner has asked me to share a few words about WMOM discontinuing broadcast operations on 102.7 FM.

He was involved in a serious auto accident last month, which made him re-evaluate his activities in managing the business. With his 70th birthday approaching, he realized he was long past retirement age and couldn’t keep up with the schedule required to operate the radio station.

...

We are very proud of the comprehensive sports coverage provided to our audience for Ludington Orioles football and basketball games from 2012 through last month’s Boys Basketball run to the Breslin Center.

This included covering a pair of Ludington Orioles playoff football games in 2016 at Alma and 2018 at Escanaba; adding full coverage of Ludington Girls Basketball games; both the thrilling 2017 Oriole Boys Basketball Class B State Semifinal win over River Rouge and the ’17 Boys Basketball Class B State Championship game between the Orioles and New Haven Rockets; and this year’s surprising run for the Boys Basketball team to the Division 2 State Semifinal game.

Mr. Lopeman is very proud of picking up the ball, when WKLA dropped Rod Beckman in 2012.

Play-by-Play man Todd “Scoop” Hansen and Color Commentary man/Statistician Gary “Cazie” Castonia worked one year providing football coverage at WKLA before moving along with Rod Beckman and Joe Holmes to WMOM 102.7 FM. There, the station covered every single Ludington football game and boys basketball game from 2012 through 2019.

The station also provided a springboard for Ludington’s Mayor Steve Miller during the 2016-’17 and 2017-’18 football and basketball seasons, working as Hansen’s color commentary man.

During the 2018 football season, Adam “Z-Man” Zelek worked seven games at Hansen’s side doing color commentary. He split those duties during the Orioles recent basketball season with Castonia.

Regardless of the future outcome, we are very proud of our accomplishments over our time at WMOM and want to end on a high note.

Mr. Lopeman is seeking a new operator who will provide continuing sports coverage this fall and winter.

We want to sincerely thank our loyal sponsors, Ludington Area Schools, and most importantly, all of our listeners. We hope to be back in one capacity or another this coming fall while describing the action on the gridiron, and then in the winter on the hard-court for our Ludington Orioles. We hope as you ‘listened to your Mom’ during our seven years of covering O’s sports, you felt the passion and excitement of our broadcasts. We were extremely proud to be the official station of the Orioles.

[Willy]

"The station also provided a springboard for Ludington’s Mayor Steve Miller during the 2016-’17 and 2017-’18 football and basketball seasons, working as Hansen’s color commentary man."

A very revealing comment.

[XLFD]

The release failed to notice that the radio station's springboard didn't work so well for Gary Castonia when he sought the mayor mantle in 2016 and finished third.  

And this was precisely because station owner, Patrick Lopeman, properly followed the letter of the law by restricting Gary from radio broadcasts during the time he was campaigning.  Lopeman also actively prevented Steve Miller from being on the air during his mayor campaign, as his mayoral opponent indicated he would not sign a waiver of his equal time rights.  This dispute seems to have led to Miller's retirement from WMOM.

  Patrick was a true maverick, starting up a radio station about 20 years ago in the small market of Ludington that followed the old school rules of being a community radio station.  Such stations have a hard time nowadays with not only competing with the consolidated mega-station model followed by Synergy Broadcasting operating behind "Just Bargains", but also the rise of specialized music stations over internet, satellite, and cable.  He always prized being able to cover area sports, but whenever I talked with him at 'news events', it was clear local news was also a priority.    I thank him most appreciatively for allowing me to debate Kaye Holman twice in 2011, voice my opposition to the City Proposal in 2012 to ease term limits for the mayor, and for getting my message out in 2016.  

I hope he still comes to visit us here in Ludington, and as I hoped in our Facebook outlet, I hold out the hope he announced this on April 1st so he could change his mind later, and say he was just kidding.

[Dave]

While I can understand Mr Lopeman wanting to concentrate on his recovery, it seems odd that he would shut things down while shopping the station around to a new owner. In my opinion its generally always easier to sell something that is up and running smoothly than something that is sitting dormant. Hopefully there will be someone that steps up and makes the purchase so that the station is back on the air soon, love or hate it having a local station like that around is usually going to be a good thing.

[AQUAMAN]

Well, I for one and probably many many others are going to miss that Orioles coverage of sports. Todd Hansen was a big booster and asset in all regards. I hope somehow the station is sold for good money and the new owner keeps the tradition alive this coming fall and winter. Sad loss now.

[Willy]

I have it on good authority that the station has been sold to a local who has made his fortune from lawsuits against the City. Below is a logo floated out on the internet to see how the public will react.

[XLFD]

"Always listen to your Tom"

I can't help but think that the station's broadcasting demise came so coincidentally with a fallout between the City and WMOM which led to the station ending the long-standing Friday morning routine of having Heather Tykoski and/or Jen Tooman having a large (and free) segment to talk about what's happening in the D of Ludington over the weekend.  They used it usually as a springboard to advertise for their good buddies on the DDA Board and beyond.  

Knowing Heather's disposition after the abrupt cancellation and her past acts, I wouldn't be surprised if she used her powers and connections as a 'Community Development Director' to make WMOM pay for their sin against her.  When I get more information, I'll let you know.  

[Freedom Seeker]

It is a haunting silence. Best of wishes to you Mr. Lopeman. Hoping you get a speedy recovery and come back with your good service to the community, better than ever!