June 6, 2026
FM? More like F-My God
An Ohio Valley 100k-Watt FM Signal Is Severed in Broad Daylight – Radio World
Small-town radio gets hit by a daylight copper heist — and the internet is screaming ‘HOW IS HE ALIVE?’
TLDR: A man allegedly cut down a major local radio station’s main line for scrap, leaving it limping along on a tiny backup signal and facing a huge repair bill. Online, the reaction was a mix of disbelief and dark comedy, with commenters obsessing over one question: how did he survive?
A local country radio station in Kentucky, 93.7 The Dawg, got dragged into absolute real-life chaos after someone allegedly cut down its main broadcast line in broad daylight and hauled it away for scrap. The station, which normally blasts out across the Ohio Valley, was knocked down to a tiny backup signal while owners scrambled to deal with what could become a $70,000 to $100,000 repair nightmare. But online, the money wasn’t even the first thing people fixated on. The instant community reaction was basically: wait, how is this guy not dead?
That was the dominant mood by a mile. Commenters were horrified, fascinated, and a little impressed in the worst possible way. One person who had dealt with tower theft before called it a brutal day, while another shared a story about getting too close to a much smaller college radio setup and said their head rang for a week — which only made this alleged stunt sound even more unhinged. The hot take of the thread? This wasn’t just theft; it was Darwin Awards behavior. And because the internet can never resist turning danger into a punchline, the jokes came fast: the suspect’s name, Paul Crisp, sparked a round of “nominative determinism” humor, as if he were destined to end up associated with something getting cut to a crisp. Behind the memes, though, there’s real local anger: people see this as an attack on a hometown station that actually matters to the community.
Key Points
- •The main FM transmission line for 93.7 WDGG(FM), a 100,000-watt station licensed to Ashland, Kentucky, was cut at its Catlettsburg tower site, taking its full-power signal off the air.
- •WSAZ(TV) identified Paul Crisp of Catlettsburg as the alleged perpetrator, and the Boyd County Sheriff’s Office said it recovered the cut transmission line and pursued charges after his arrest.
- •WDGG is currently operating at about 10 watts using a backup transmitter and auxiliary antenna while repairs are arranged.
- •Kindred Communications estimates repair costs at $70,000 to $100,000, with replacement line costing up to $160 per foot.
- •Company officials said the damaged line is difficult to repair because it is an unusual size and contains pressurized gases, making simple splicing risky.