Same here in Canada. There used to be all kinds of small town locally owned stations that all disappeared, or are owned by a large corporation.
Small towns are disappearing as well, so it's not surprising that their radio stations are going.
I don't like it, and don't agree with it, but it just may be the natural order of things as we get more and more connected in other ways.
It doesn't mean that we (Part 15 broadcasters) have to give up and/or stop.
Those corporate radio stations aren't doing all that well financially either. That creates opportunities for new, more local radio in the future, as they fall by the wayside.
And we can always hope that the FCC and Industry Canada at some point actually do their jobs, and work towards taking the public interest into consideration (as opposed to corporate or political interests) by changing the playing field to encourage local radio.
Changing the playing field in terms of legal matters won't result in many changes to reality. The cost of electricity to run the plant will still be high; as will maintenance of a tower or towers (and the land therein), technical compliance, salaries, software and music licenses etc. We've got it knocked, in that our "towers" are cut-down 10-foot pieces of EMT from Lowe's and can be replaced for about $19. Actual commercial stations don't have it anywhere near that easy.
I read the same article and forwarded it to a lot of friends. All they can do is shrug.