KRGS
Broadcast areaGrand Junction, Colorado
Frequency690 kHz
BrandingESPN 690 AM/98.9 FM
Programming
FormatSports
AffiliationsESPN Radio
Ownership
OwnerWestern Slope Communications, LLC
KAYW, KAVP, KWGL, KZKS
History
First air date
June 9, 1967 (1967-06-09) (as KWSR at 810)
Former call signs
  • KWSR (1967–1985)
  • KDBL (1985–1987)
  • KWWS (1987–1989)
  • KKGD (1989–1994)
Former frequencies
810 kHz (1967–1995)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
Federal Communications Commission
Facility ID71960
ClassD
Power
  • 900 watts day
  • 12 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
39°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
WebsiteESPN Radio 690

KRGS (690 AM) is a radio station licensed to Rifle, Colorado, United States. The station is owned by Western Slope Communications, LLC. The station has applied for a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to move to a new transmitter site, increase day power to 2,300 watts and increase night power to 16 watts.[2][3]

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,[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.[17] Its call sign changed to KKGD in 1989.[18] The stations were sold again in 1991 for assumption of debts[19] and 1993; the new owners, Canterbury Broadcasting,[20] changed KKGD's call sign on April 21, 1994, to the current KRGS.[21]

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. ↑ "Transactions". Radio & Records. May 27, 1988. p. 8. ProQuest 1017207150.
  18. ↑ "Call Letters". Broadcasting. October 23, 1989. p. 96. ProQuest 1014732522.
  19. ↑ "Ownership Changes". Broadcasting. February 4, 1991. p. 48. ProQuest 1014743698.
  20. ↑ "Transactions". Radio & Records. August 27, 1993. p. 6. ProQuest 1017262550.
  21. ↑ "KRGS Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.


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