Maybe I'm biased because of my job, but surely I'm not the only one who thinks it would be pretty awesome to have their very own radio station. I realize that just about anybody can start an internet radio station (fairly affordably) in their basement, but nothing compares to a real radio station. One with with a tower, a transmitter, an office and - gasp - actual listeners.

Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
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This radio station is for sale in Malta, MT.

KMMR is a 3,000 watt, Class A FM radio station and is listed by United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty and Auction. The asking price is $439,000; about the price of a really nice house in Billings, or an extremely tiny house in Bozeman. See the listing HERE. Considering a radio station can cost upwards a million bucks in Montana, this seems like a decent price.

Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
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Small town radio at it's best.

Radio station in small towns have traditionally been great examples of how radio can super-serve their communities. In this case, it includes a diverse format that may include high school sports, farm and ag reports, local news and weather and probably lost pet reports. The map above represents the coverage area of the radio station, touted as approximately a 70 mile radius around the Malta area.

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Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
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What? They still have CD's??

Back in the day, all radio stations played their music from records, cassettes, "carts" (like an 8 track), reel-to-reel tape machines or CD's. That all started changing in the early 2000's and now everything you hear on the radio is played from a computer hard drive (with rare exception).

This radio station has ripped their library into a computer, but they've kept what appears to be thousands of CD's as a back-up. It's actually not a bad idea, as we realized after a massive virus took our system down a few years ago. It was a nightmare.

Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
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The station has served the Malta community for 40 years.

While the books aren't public, the radio station must be turning a decent profit... the listing notes five live DJ's (!!!), a receptionist and two full-time sales reps. It's currently playing a mix of modern country, classic pop and rock, news and specialty programming. Of course, should you buy it, you can play WHATEVER YOU WANT. Which is the main reason anyone fantasizes about having their own radio station.

Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
Photo courtesy United Country Real Estate/Northwest Realty & Auction
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The only reason I'm not talking to my bank about a business loan.

It's in Malta. As they say in the real estate biz, "location, location, location." I've never been to Malta (or the Hi-Line, for that matter), but I know it's only an hour south of the Canadian border, in one of the most desolate parts of Big Sky Country. I don't necessarily love winter, and in Malta winter means WINTER.

The upside? You can buy a decent house in Malta, like this one, for $165k. Hmmm... perhaps I can learn to love winter?

Montana Winter Emergency Travel Kit

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