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KRGS

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Radio station in Colorado, United States
KRGS
Broadcast areaGrand Junction, Colorado
Frequency690 kHz
BrandingESPN 690 AM/98.9 FM
Programming
FormatDefunct (was sports)
AffiliationsESPN Radio
Ownership
OwnerWestern Slope Communications, LLC
Sister stationsKAYW, KAVP, KWGL, KZKS
History
First air dateJune 9, 1967 (1967-06-09) (as KWSR at 810)
Last air dateJuly 2022 (2022-07)
Former call signs
  • KWSR (1967–1985)
  • KDBL (1985–1987)
  • KWWS (1987–1989)
  • KKGD (1989–1994)
Former frequencies810 kHz (1967–1995)
Technical information
Licensing authorityFCC
Facility ID71960
ClassD
Power
  • 900 watts day
  • 12 watts night
Transmitter coordinates39°32′56″N 107°46′11″W / 39.54889°N 107.76972°W / 39.54889; -107.76972
Translator(s)98.9 K255CB (Rifle)
Links
Public license information

KRGS (690 AM) was a radio station licensed to Rifle, Colorado, United States. The station was owned by Western Slope Communications, LLC. It went on the air in 1967 as KWSR; after nearly losing its license in the 1970s, it became KDBL in 1985, KWWS in 1987, KKGD in 1989, and KRGS in 1994, before ceasing operations in 2022.

History

On July 6, 1965, the Oil Shale Broadcasting Company applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to build a new 1,000-watt, daytime-only radio station on 810 kHz in Rifle. The commission granted the permit on December 2, 1966, and the station began broadcasting in 1967. The manager was Jimmy Seany, a former promotions manager for Denver's KWGN-TV; studios were in the Winchester Hotel.

The FCC designated the renewal of KWSR's broadcast license for hearing in November 1974 on the basis of complaints made by a former employee. In January 1976, FCC administrative law judge Walter C. Miller issued an initial decision to deny the renewal. The major issue in the license renewal proceeding was that the station rigged a "Turkey Shoot" contest. He preselected winners, one of them an advertiser on KWSR, so as to avoid an imbalance in geography; the rigging was carried out by a young staffer, according to owner Norm Price. Miller also cited other misrepresentations in the station's operating logs and said that although unfortunate, the station's misdeeds merited a temporary loss of radio service in Rifle. Upset listeners in the Rifle area and nearby Grand Junction mounted a letter-writing campaign to the commission in protest of Miller's initial decision. Oil Shale Broadcasting Company appealed, and the full FCC granted a one-year license renewal and assessed a $200 fine.

KWSR was sold to Susan and Stephen Hughes in 1985. Hughes owned Rifle FM station KDBL, and the stations became KDBL and KDBL-FM. This was the first in a series of sales over the next decade. Servant Communications, a group with broadcast interests in Oklahoma, acquired the KDBL stations in 1987 and changed the call letters on AM to KWWS. Within a year, Servant sold the pair to companies owned by Steven Humphries; by this time, KWWS was airing a country music format. In 1988, Humphries was involved in a dispute with the then owners of KKOB and KKOB-FM in Albuquerque. The owner of those stations, Fairmont Communications corporation, disputed Humphries' acquisition of KNMQ out of Santa Fe. At the time, Humphries also owned 100% of the share of Sun Media of Colorado. Sun Media was operating KWWS at the time. Sister station KZKS, then known as KWWS-FM, was involved in the dispute as well. Its call sign changed to KKGD in 1989, ahead of a format change to oldies. The stations were sold again in 1991 for assumption of debts; the new owners, David Smith's Western Media, sold them to Canterbury Broadcasting for $20,000 in 1993. Canterbury, in turn, sold KKGD and KZKS to Western Slope Communications for $30,000 in 1994.

The call sign was changed to KRGS on April 21, 1994. The station, which had been silent, returned to the air that September carrying country music from Jones Satellite Networks. KRGS moved from 810 to 690 kHz in 1995, and switched to oldies, also provided by Jones, in September 1997.

The FCC cancelled the station’s license on July 24, 2024, as it had been off the air since July 2022 and did not respond to an FCC letter. KRGS had left the air due to a transmitter failure; by then, it had become a sports radio station affiliated with ESPN Radio.

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for KRGS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "KRGS Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. "KRGS Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  4. "History Cards for KRGS". Federal Communications Commission.
  5. Hoff, Hollis (July 21, 1967). "Sight 'n' Sound". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Fort Collins, Colorado. p. 7. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Some Won't Believe It, But Rifle Has Women Disc Jockeys". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. November 1, 1971. p. 1-A. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "In contest". Broadcasting. November 18, 1974. p. 74. ProQuest 1016882878.
  8. Georgeson, Carolyn; Boland, Mary (January 23, 1976). "'Turkey shoot,' irregularities cited: Rifle radio station fails to get license renewal". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. p. 1. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Boland, Mary (September 26, 1975). "FCC makes a mountain out of a turkey". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. p. 1. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "FCC Judge KOs KWSR License". Variety. January 28, 1976. p. 39. ProQuest 1286113187.
  11. "Residents backing Rifle radio station". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. February 17, 1976. p. 13. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "In contest". Broadcasting. March 27, 1978. p. 84. ProQuest 1014689606.
  13. "For the Record". Broadcasting. March 11, 1985. p. 81. ProQuest 1014708757.
  14. "Call Letters". Broadcasting. May 20, 1985. p. 101. ProQuest 963247304.
  15. "For the Record". Broadcasting. February 23, 1987. p. 76. ProQuest 1016914707.
  16. "Call Letters". Broadcasting. April 20, 1987. p. 80. ProQuest 1016915325.
  17. Rick Nathanson (September 27, 1988). "Petition 'Sour Grapes,' says KNMQ-FM owner". Albuquerque Journal. p. 9-B – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Transactions". Radio & Records. May 27, 1988. p. 8. ProQuest 1017207150.
  19. "Call Letters". Broadcasting. October 23, 1989. p. 96. ProQuest 1014732522.
  20. "Format Changes". The M Street Journal. November 6, 1989. p. 1.
  21. "Ownership Changes". Broadcasting. February 4, 1991. p. 48. ProQuest 1014743698.
  22. "Transactions". Radio & Records. August 27, 1993. p. 6. ProQuest 1017262550.
  23. "Emmis Doubles At Home With $26 Million For Indy Combo". Radio & Records. April 22, 1994. p. 6.
  24. "KRGS Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  25. "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. September 14, 1994. p. 1.
  26. "Facilites/Parameters: Grants". The M Street Journal. July 19, 1995. p. 4.
  27. "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. September 10, 1997. p. 1.
  28. "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  29. Venta, Lance (July 28, 2024). "FCC Report 7/28: Pair Of Translators Fined For Very Late License Renewals". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  30. Venta, Lance (August 7, 2022). "FCC Report 8/7: FCC Selects 27 Tentative Non-Comm MX'd Filings". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 30, 2024.

External links


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