KRGS
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Grand Junction, Colorado |
| Frequency | 690 kHz |
| Branding | ESPN 690 AM/98.9 FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Defunct (was Sports) |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Western Slope Communications, LLC |
| KAYW, KAVP, KWGL, KZKS | |
| History | |
First air date | June 9, 1967 (as KWSR at 810) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 810 kHz (1967–1995) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 71960 |
| Class | D |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 39°32′56″N 107°46′11″W / 39.54889°N 107.76972°W |
| Translator(s) | 98.9 K255CB (Rifle) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | ESPN Radio 690 |
KRGS (690 AM) was a radio station licensed to Rifle, Colorado, United States. The station was owned by Western Slope Communications, LLC. In 2019 the Federal Communications Commission granted a construction permit to move to a new transmitter site, increase day power to 2,300 watts and increase night power to 16 watts. It expired in 2022 without being built.[2][3]
History
[edit]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,[4] and the station began broadcasting in 1967. The manager was Jimmy Seany, a former promotions manager for Denver's KWGN-TV;[5] studios were in the Winchester Hotel.[6]
The FCC designated the renewal of KWSR's broadcast license for hearing in November 1974[7] on the basis of complaints made by a former employee.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Oil Shale Broadcasting Company appealed, and the full FCC granted a one-year license renewal and assessed a $200 fine.[12]
KWSR was sold to Susan and Stephen Hughes in 1985. Hughes owned Rifle FM station KDBL,[13] and the stations became KDBL and KDBL-FM.[14] 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.[15][16] 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, the owner of KRGS, Steven 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 KRGS at the time. [17] Sister station KZKS, then known as KWWS-FM, was involved in the dispute as well.[18] Its call sign changed to KKGD in 1989.[19] The stations were sold again in 1991 for assumption of debts[20] and 1993; the new owners, Canterbury Broadcasting,[21] changed KKGD's call sign on April 21, 1994, to the current KRGS.[22]
The Federal Communications Commission cancelled the station’s license on July 24, 2024.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KRGS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "KRGS Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ "KRGS Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- ^ "History Cards for KRGS" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Hoff, Hollis (July 21, 1967). "Sight 'n' Sound". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Fort Collins, Colorado. p. 7. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "In contest". Broadcasting. November 18, 1974. p. 74. ProQuest 1016882878.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "FCC Judge KOs KWSR License". Variety. January 28, 1976. p. 39. ProQuest 1286113187.
- ^ "Residents backing Rifle radio station". The Daily Sentinel. Grand Junction, Colorado. February 17, 1976. p. 13. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "In contest". Broadcasting. March 27, 1978. p. 84. ProQuest 1014689606.
- ^ "For the Record". Broadcasting. March 11, 1985. p. 81. ProQuest 1014708757.
- ^ "Call Letters". Broadcasting. May 20, 1985. p. 101. ProQuest 963247304.
- ^ "For the Record". Broadcasting. February 23, 1987. p. 76. ProQuest 1016914707.
- ^ "Call Letters". Broadcasting. April 20, 1987. p. 80. ProQuest 1016915325.
- ^ Rick Nathanson (September 27, 1988). "Petition 'Sour Grapes,' says KNMQ-FM owner". Albuquerque Journal. p. 9-B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Transactions". Radio & Records. May 27, 1988. p. 8. ProQuest 1017207150.
- ^ "Call Letters". Broadcasting. October 23, 1989. p. 96. ProQuest 1014732522.
- ^ "Ownership Changes". Broadcasting. February 4, 1991. p. 48. ProQuest 1014743698.
- ^ "Transactions". Radio & Records. August 27, 1993. p. 6. ProQuest 1017262550.
- ^ "KRGS Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Facility details for Facility ID 71960 (KRGS) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- KRGS in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 41272 (K255CB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- K255CB at FCCdata.org
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