Joe won't need a Welcome Wagon visit to navigate his way around Nashville - he programmed WRQQ there, under Cumulus. And it's Cumulus which has a Joint Sales Agreement (not a full Local Marketing Agreement) with one of country's undoubted heritage stations. But WSM (650) dropped to a 2.6 share 12+ in the latest Arbitrends, and Limardi (inbound from Cumulus-Poughkeepsie) will be working to repair that.

Bob Ingstad himself died in May, and now his family sells a group of his stations in southwestern Kansas to the Jim Coursolle-led Armada Media. The stations include talk KBUF, Holcomb (1030), country KKJQ, Garden City (97.3), and hot AC KSKZ, Copeland (98.1). Brokerage credits (for the seller) are shared by Jody McCoy and Tom McKinley of Media Services Group, who've been doing work on other Robert Ingstad properties. Price for the octet: $9.5 million.

Radio One Cleveland has promoted Terry Bello to PD of Gospel WJMO. Bello will continue in his role as APD/MD of urban ac sister WZAK. He takes over for OM Kim Johnson, who can now concentrate on her programming duties at WZAK and urban WENZ, as well as her on air shift at WZAK.

Raffy Contigo, PD/morning man at Clear Channel's tropical WKOX Boston, is moving to Latin Pop KLOL "Mega" Houston as PD. He replaces Bobby Ramos who exited last month. Back in Boston, pm driver Miguel Miguel takes over the programming seat. 

Len Besinger has joined in3media, Inc., parent company of Radio-Info.com as Director Of Sales. He starts his new job immediately, and will be based in Chicago.

Besinger has over 30 years experience in the radio and related industries, having worked in sales, programming, promotion, and on air, as well as in record promotion and label management, and Internet sales. More recently, he has worked with Onradio.com and First Media Works, the first company to effectively monetize radio station websites.

On hiring Besinger, Diana Fleming, President of in3media, Inc., said, "Len's combined knowledge of the radio industry and Internet-based sales companies make him a perfect fit for the Radio-Info team. He plans to introduce Radio-info to every vendor at the NAB Radio Show, and that's the kind of enthusiasm I like!"

Len Besinger can be reached at len@in3media.com, or at his office at 630-372-8722. You can read the entire press release here

Greater Media's WTKK is trying to lure Carr away from Entercom's WRKO - and the Boston Herald has details of the compensation package - A first-year salary of $450,000, but performance bonuses of $200,000. Note that those are quarterly bonuses, based on 25-54 finishes in the latest Arbitrons. Even a fifth place finish 25-54 would bring Carr $70,000 for that rating book.

WRKO's is contesting Carr's move when his contract ends September 19 (and by the way, Howie would pocket a $50,000 signing bonus if he can start in the morning slot on WTKK by October 1). Entercom also claims it has a "right to match" clause in Carr's current contract. Read Jessica Heslam's Boston Herald story here. And see the lively discussion about Howie Carr and the landscape of Boston talk radio on the Radio-Info message board. ##discussit##

The 14-year ABC staffer gets a bump to Senior VP, as ABCRN President Jim Robinson calls T.J. "one of our star performers", and puts affiliate efforts for ABC News Radio, Paul Harvey, ABC's talk programming and its ten 24-hour music services in his hands - as well as ABC's international projects.

The heavily-watched national TV show called "Hockey Night In Canada" began on CBC radio in the 1930s - and now, says Globe & Mail columnist William Houston, it's returning to national radio, in a way. Nobody's commenting on the record, but Houston sounds confident the deal will be with Sirius Canada, not the XM affiliate. CBC owns 40% of Sirius Canada, and Houston even reports that "one of the hosts of HNIC Radio is expected to be Hockey Night reporter Elliotte Friedman" - who did radio on Toronto's Fan 590. Read the Globe & Mail article here.

WOXY will continue to handle its own streaming at WOXY.com, but it adds a broadcasting dimension with this innovative arrangement with Public Radio Cincinnati, to put WOXY on WVXU's HD-2 channel. Not only that - WOXY.com GM Bryan Jay Miller says the HD-2 signal will potentially reach more ears in Greater Cincinnati than its former "97X" home in Oxford, OH ever did. The Baloghs sold that frequency several years ago as part of an FM upgrade plan by First Broadcasting. Read John Kiesewetter's Cincinnati Enquirer article here.

The satcaster has had space in the Country Music Hall of Fame since 2001, and now EVP/Programming Eric Logan - a former major-market country PD - announces they're taking new studios, a performance facility and office space in the city-owned Sommet Center, in what's called the arena tower. Construction should be done by later this year, says XM, which offers seven separate country channels. Logan says they'll continue to work with the Hall of Fame.

It's been nearly four years (September 2003) that WDCG's "Bob and Madison Show" suggested, incredibly, that bicyclists were a pain for motorists and that drivers might throw bottles at them or run them off the road. About that same time, several other morning shows around the country made similar statements, but the one in Raleigh-Durham led to a half-dozen informal objections to G105's license renewal. Some of those objectors were from outside the Triangle area, but the Commission looked at them and eventually found that the G105 remarks didn't meet the "clear and present danger" test - but it's only now that it grants license renewal. Read the FCC letter here.

NRG Media's Omaha director of operations, Mark Todd, is leaving the company, with the position being cut. Todd has been with NRG for six years. His last day is set to be this Friday, August 31.

Life on Cape Cod is nice--even nicer when you can work in radio. Kevin Redding, vet of Greater Media's WBOS and WROR-FM Boston, is the lucky one. He'll be handling afternoons on Qantum-owned WCIB, starting September 4. He replaces Dene Peachey.

Philly market vet Gary Shepard is out at Radio One's urban ac WRNB. He's replaced by Lady B, who is best known for her "Weekend Basement Party" show. She'll take the big leap to full-time.

NextMedia Group's news talk WJOL-AM Chicago has opted to run the syndicated "Dave Ramsey Show" in afternoons from 1 -4 pm, then Isaac Sanken from 4 -6 pm. The two new shows replace Tony Ray. According to Robert Feder in The Chicago Sun-Times, Ray previously was the morning man at WJOL for ten years.