A Columbus sports talk radio station was temporarily evacuated after a suspicious package was found on Thursday afternoon, prompting a shift to network programming. “Hi all, we are currently running network programming due to a situation at our building that has caused us to temporarily evacuate,” the station’s official X account wrote in a since-deleted post. “We plan to return to local programming as soon as possible today.”
According to Citizen.com, authorities responded to the station for “an unconfirmed report of a powdery substance found inside a package” just after 1:15 p.m. on Thursday. The FBI, HAZMAT, firefighters, and EMS all responded to the scene. While the building was evacuated, the ESPN affiliate ran national programming until resuming local programming just after 3 p.m. The station’s afternoon drive show, Common Man & T-Bone, broadcast the first half-hour from a self-described “closet” before returning to the studio for the remainder of the show.
Thanks for everyone’s patience this afternoon, we are back up, and running!
Even though @ManAndBone971 are back in the studio, we’re going to call them The Bunker Boyz for the rest of the day.
Tune into The Fan, 97.1 FM, streaming on The Fan App, & YouTube @WBNSradio pic.twitter.com/kRFzdWSDum— 97.1 The Fan (@971thefan) February 13, 2025
At this point, there aren’t many additional details regarding the circumstances that led to Thursday’s evacuation and the temporary switch to national programming. However, the good news is that everybody appears safe, allowing Columbus listeners to return to their Buckeyes and Blue Jackets talk.
