Cliff Dumas reacquiring 10 SE radio stations, including KINY and TAKU 105, after bankruptcy proceedings
- Mark Sabbatini
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Owner says most changes noticeable to listeners have already occurred during the past year — although its Juneau operations are relocating soon to the Mendenhall Mall
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Ten Southeast Alaska radio stations that have been in receivership since February 2025, including KINY and TAKU 105 in Juneau, are in the final stages of being purchased by Cliff Dumas as part of the Alaska First Media company he formed last summer.
For people listening to the six stations in Juneau, and two apiece in Sitka and Ketchikan, the agreement isn’t likely to mean any noticeable changes in the short term, Dumas said in an interview Thursday. But for people familiar with seeing the radio outlet’s offices on Channel Drive, he noted operations are moving to a new site in the Mendenhall Mall as early as next month.
"The construction is underway right now," he said. "We've got the studios built and they’re being wired. Equipment has been ordered. Our engineer’s here for the next month and a half to facilitate it. So I might be ambitious, but I'm hoping that we're in there in mid-April."
The station purchase deal, which Dumas said is now in escrow, comes after extensive financial and operational turmoil involving the similarly named Local First Media Group, which owned six radio stations in Texas and 10 in Alaska until filing for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in May 2025. That filing occurred after the company was placed into receivership when it defaulted on a loan of nearly $8.2 million to a Canadian financial company.
Where it may get confusing for some people is this is the second time Dumas has purchased the stations in the past four years.
Dumas is paying about $1.3 million to reacquire the Alaska stations, which includes about $381,000 for the stations and $900,000 for property associated with them, according to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing. He previously purchased the stations in Alaska and Texas in a $1.3 million deal in 2022 as the majority owner (80%) of BTC USA Holdings Management. The other 20% was owned by Local First Media Group, headed by Bryan Woodruff.
What happened after that is subject to a lot of dispute and accusations involving Dumas, Woodruff and other stakeholders. But ultimately Local First Media and six affiliates ended up in last year’s bankruptcy proceedings, with Dumas asserting his affiliate groups were not part of the defaulted loan by Local First Media.
Dumas formed Alaska First Media Inc. last July and is its sole owner, according to the State of Alaska’s business license database. He said extensive staff turnover that occurred in recent years has stabalized during the past year, including his daughter Grace as a newscaster, and his wife Lisa as the company’s vice president and an afternoon show host.
"We're a family of broadcasters and it's a joy to be able to do that in one place that we call home," he said.
The stations involved in the purchase, as listed by radioinsight.com are:
Juneau
Country “Taku 105” 105.1 KTKU Juneau
Hot AC “Mix 106” 106.3 KSUP Juneau
Sports “Hawk 107.9” K300AB Juneau/KSUP-HD2
News/Talk 630 KJNO/97.5 K248DQ Juneau
Full Service Oldies 800 KINY/94.9 K235DA/103.5 K278GE Juneau and additional translators 103.9 K280DX Angoon, 103.7 K279AF Haines, 103.9 K280ED Hoonah, 103.5 K278GE Kake and 104.7 K284AM Skagway
Classic Hits “93.3/1330 KXJ” KXXJ/K227DP Juneau
Ketchikan
“Gateway Country” 106.7 KGTW Ketchikan/98.3 K252EJ Wrangell/99.5 K258AD Craig
Talk/AC 930 KTKN/93.3 K227DQ/97.5 K248AI Ketchikan
Sitka
Dumas’ company also operates Rock 99.9 KFMJ in Ketchikan, according to the website.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
