![]() RadioActive is solely owned by Randy Michaels, who was once the CEO of radio monolith Clear Channel Communications. WNMR is owned by RadioActive LLC, a Kentucky-based company that owns the licenses to several stations around the country, including 97.9 FM WZXP, "the Album Station" in Bristol. So if it's not Frank FM, who turned on the lights at WNMR? "There's not much we can do about it," he says. His hands are tied, as WNMR is broadcasting legally and generally within its FCC-approved range. "When they turn their towers on, we go dark from about Burlington to Richmond," says Michaels. ![]() And every time it does, the NY station's 1,000-watt signal overpowers Frank FM in the Champlain Valley. But Michaels notes that WNMR has changed formats several times in recent years. Most recently that station was a sports talk radio outlet. Michaels explains that the 107.1 FM currently invading the Champlain Valley is not coming from his radio tower, but that of WNMR, which broadcasts on the same frequency across the lake in Dannemora, N.Y. "Though that would be an interesting business strategy." "No, we haven't become a polka station," says Frank FM music director TJ Michaels in a recent phone call. So is this a joke? Has Frank FM really changed formats? To polka? (Franz FM, perhaps?) Is the nonstop polka a predictor of imminent end times? What in the name of Lawrence Welk is going on? In between revolutions of what appear to be the same handful of tunes over and over - though how anyone can tell the difference is a question for another day - an ad trumpets the impending arrival of "107.1 FM the Barrel: the Future Home of Polka in the Champlain Valley."Īpart from polka die-hards (we assume there are some), the staff at Das Bierhaus and maybe some Old World German grandparents, the collective response from most listeners in Burlington and surrounds was, roughly speaking, "What the f …?" Polka musicplayer full#He was truly full of the fruits of the spirit and his faith, love and gentleness were boundless.Recently, classic-rock fans in the Champlain Valley tuning to Barre's 107.1 "Frank" FM were surprised to find that, rather than their daily fix of "More Than a Feeling" and "Rock You Like a Hurricane," the frequency was broadcasting polka music. "He was a simple man, who lived a simple truth: Love the Lord, love your family, love your neighbor. "Beyond the memories, I'll always have his music, not just to remember but to share with my kids and theirs," Cole Lackowski, 22, wrote to his grandmother in a text. In a message to his grandmother, the Lackowskis' eldest grandson Cole said Big Daddy's legacy will live on. Even on the rainiest Oktoberfests, that Dodge van delivered something that brightened the day well into the night.” “…He knew the folks in the tent weren’t there for the beer, the brats or the pancakes: They were there for Big Daddy Lackowski. “When the van pulled in, and (Lackowski) and his family would pour out: he would set a tone beyond any note from the bands’ instruments: optimism…energy…and passion for the polka from this deity armed with an accordion,” a post from the restaurant reads. The Clarkston Union Bar and Kitchen reflected on more than two decades of Big Daddy blessing its Oktoberfests. An ordinary tent in a parking lot would be transformed into the best party in town once Big Daddy started hitting the keys. Thus Poletown was born.įans and community members recounted weddings, birthdays and festivals livened by Lackowski’s music. At the turn of the century, Detroit's manufacturing industries and a thriving economy - not to mention a prominent Catholic presence - attracted Poles seeking work. More: Restaurant workers find greener pastures in coding, hairstyling and auto manufacturingīeer halls, sports stadiums and weddings thrummed with polka music across the Midwest, which accounts for a significant portion of Polish immigrants. ![]() ![]() More: Michigan schools get creative in spending federal COVID-19 relief funds "Faith was the center point of our marriage and our childbearing years," Mary Ann said. Mary’s Seminary in Orchard Lake, where the name Big Daddy originated. After disbanding the Lackowski Brothers Orchestra, Lackowski joined the priesthood and entered St. ![]()
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