By Robert Morast
The (Sioux Falls, S.D.) Argus Leader

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - It's all about the honks at Xtreme 92.1 FM.

For the low-power FM radio station located on the third floor of a building here, success isn't measured in advertising revenue or drive-time ratings.

"We have a thing where we say (on the air) if you're driving by the studio, honk," says Rick Wright, the station's program director.

During an average afternoon in the studio, the honking is noticeable enough to let the DJs know there are fans of a tiny radio station that has no promotion and a broadcast radius that doesn't always reach the east side of town.

If U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., have their way, similar stations could be hearing honks, too.

The two senators recently introduced a bill that would allow more noncommercial, low-power stations such as Xtreme 92 to operate on the FM dial.

They see the stations returning unique community-based programming to cities where radio stations have been mainstreamed by media conglomerates and syndicated programming.

Since the federal deregulation of media ownership in the mid-'90s, the state of radio has become increasingly controlled by corporations that purchase a large share of stations in a given market.

Opponents of deregulation often point to media giant Clear Channel, which has a reputation of restricting play lists at its stations across the nation. Another complaint about the media consolidation is that the corporate-owned stations ignore the community where they broadcast.

The radio companies contend they are just giving people the programming they want, that the marketplace drives radio play lists.

The low-power bill, which deregulates some restrictions on starting the stations, is intended to inspire hundreds of stations across the country that aim to report on specific community aspects.

But with the average cost to acquire a commercial radio station at $2.5 million in 2003, independent radio stations aren't easily started.

"A commitment to localism - local operations, local research, local management, locally originated programming, local artists and local news and events - would bolster radio listening," the low-power bill, introduced earlier this month, reads.

The Xtreme 92 crew is completely local. It spins local musicians' music in a play list that can go from the likes of contemporary rapper 50 Cent to country legend Johnny Cash in one song. It attempts to involve the community by telling listeners how to register to vote or by auctioning off a DJ's long hair for charity.

"Any time you can increase the number of stations on the radio dial, it benefits the listener," said Craig Dewey a former general manager and current consultant at Augustana College's KAUR 89.1 in Sioux Falls.