WAST-LP

{{Short description|Television station in Wisconsin, 1997–2006}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}

{{Infobox television station

| callsign = WAST-LP

| logo =

| analog = 25 (UHF)

| branding = True North TV-25

| affiliations = {{ubl|America One (1997–2005)|UPN (2005–2006)}}

| founded = January 12, 1995

| airdate = {{start date|1997|5|14}}

| last_airdate = {{ubl|{{end date|2006|8|1}}|({{age in years and days|1997|5|14|2006|8|1}})|(license canceled on January 3, 2014)}}

| location = Ashland, Wisconsin

| country = United States

| callsign_meaning = Wisconsin Ashland Television

| former_callsigns = W25CA (1995–2000)

| owner = Martinsen Investments

| licensee = True North T.V. 25 LLC

| former_affiliations =

| erp = 52 kW

| haat = {{convert|163|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}

| facility_id = 8612

| class = TX

| coordinates = {{Coord|46|41|16.98|N|90|54|23.05|W}}

| licensing_authority = FCC

| website =

}}

WAST-LP (channel 25) was a low-power television station in Ashland, Wisconsin, United States. The station was a semi-satellite of the UPN-affiliated second digital subchannel of KBJR-TV in Duluth, Minnesota, then-called Northland UPN and Northland 9, but was owned by a separate entity, Martinsen Investments. WAST-LP sold local advertising specifically for the Ashland area, preempting KBJR-DT2's advertising breaks.

Since 1997, WAST-LP had been owned by Superior Water Logged Lumber. It struggled financially. A 2001 attempt to sell the station to ESI Broadcasting Corporation of Montana failed; ESI hoped to combine the station with KDUL-LP, then Duluth's UPN affiliate.{{Cite news|page=2B|first=Chris|last=Casey|title=Deal for Ashland TV station canceled: Link with Duluth's KDUL on hold for now|date=June 23, 2001|work=Duluth News Tribune}} The station then went off the air.{{r|Sheb051206}}

In December 2005, Hank Martinsen and Julie Nuutinen put WAST-LP back on the air. The station featured two daily newscasts focusing on Wisconsin-area news. It had news sharing agreements with KBJR-TV and KUWS radio in Superior.{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-sheboygan-press-ashland-tv-station-g/145097465/|date=December 6, 2005|page=A6|agency=Associated Press|title=Ashland TV station going on air soon|newspaper=The Sheboygan Press|location=Sheboygan, Wisconsin|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 10, 2024}} The effort was short-lived. On May 2, news director Julie Moravchik was fired; she claimed she was dismissed for not making ownership-ordered staffing cuts. Newsroom employees refused to work for anyone else; 10 of them were fired the following day. To fill the void, newscast replays from KDLH-TV, commonly operated with KBJR, were added to the station's programming.{{Cite news|first=Peter|last=Passi|date=May 23, 2006|title=WAST ponders new direction - BROADCASTING: The Ashland TV station is trying to bounce back from the loss of its general manager and 10 other employees.|work=Duluth News Tribune}} Moravchik was then hired to set up the newsroom at KQDS-TV in Duluth.{{Cite news|title=Defunct Ashland station staffers win Emmy - No smoking: A pair from WAST-TV bring the former station recognition for directing and producing public service announcements to kick the habit.|date=October 24, 2006|page=B5|work=Duluth News Tribune|first=Peter|last=Passi}}

On August 1, 2006, the station ended operations and went off the air, a month short of KBJR-DT2's conversion to MyNetworkTV. Despite being off the air for eight years, long after most stations licenses are canceled for not broadcasting, WAST-LP's license remained active until January 3, 2014, when its previous license to broadcast was fully exhausted.{{cite web|last=Hashemzadeh|first=Hossein|title=In re: LPTV/TV Translator Station…|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=46062|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=January 6, 2014|format=PDF|date=January 3, 2014}}