KMGM
Encyclopedia
KMGM is an American radio station licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....

 to serve the community of Montevideo
Montevideo, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,346 people, 2,353 households, and 1,444 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,190.5 people per square mile . There were 2,551 housing units at an average density of 568.1 per square mile...

, Minnesota, USA. The station, established in 1982, is owned and operated by the Iowa City Broadcasting Company. KMGM broadcasts a modern adult contemporary format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...

 to the greater southwestern Minnesota area. This station is unrelated to Los Angeles radio station KMGM (now KYSR
KYSR
KYSR is a commercial modern rock radio station in Los Angeles, California, covering the Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire areas on 98.7 FM. KYSR is also simulcasted on KSRY 103.1 FM in Tehachapi, California...

) launched by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

 in 1948.

Programming

The station launched in October 1982 with a full service
Full service (radio format)
The full service radio format consists of a wide range of programming. Mostly found on the AM band, the format can be found on a handful of FM stations...

 radio format that mixed middle of the road, oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....

, and Top 40 music with 20 hours per week of farm and agricultural programming. However, by 1985 the station would drop the farm programs and move to a mix of Top 40 and adult contemporary music. By 1987, with the station up for sale, the format would transition to a pure adult contemporary mix. The format would soften by the end of the century but the adult contemporary format has remained on the station for nearly a quarter-century.

History

In November 1979, Jerald Hennen's Western Minnesota Stereo, Inc., applied to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) for a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...

 for a new broadcast radio station. The FCC granted this permit on May 7, 1982, with a scheduled expiration date of May 7, 1983. The new station was assigned call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...

 "KMGM" on July 23, 1982. After construction and testing were completed, the station was granted its broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...

 on October 31, 1983.

In March 1987, license holder Western Minnesota Stereo, Inc., reached an agreement to sell Eagle Broadcasting Corporation. The FCC approved the deal on April 7, 1987, and the transaction was consummated on June 3, 1987.

Just over a decade later, in August 1997, Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, Inc., made a deal to sell KMGM to the Iowa City Broadcasting Company. The FCC approved the license transfer on October 21, 1997, and the deal was formally consummated on December 1, 1997. , Iowa City Broadcasting Company holds the broadcast licenses for 13 radio stations, including both KMGM and sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....

 KDMA
KDMA
KDMA is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Montevideo, Minnesota on the frequency of 1460 kHz. The station is a traditional "full service" AM radio station, meaning the programming is locally produced and has a local focus....

 in Montevideo.

Station alumni

Broadcast veteran and KMGM founder Jerald "Jerry" C. Hennen died at 69 on July 7, 2009, in Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

. His son, Scott Hennen, started working at KMGM while still in high school before moving on in the 1990s to become a disc jockey at KQHT
KZLT-FM
KZLT-FM is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to East Grand Forks, Minnesota, it serves the Grand Forks, North Dakota metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1979 under the call sign KRAD-FM...

 (104.4 FM) in Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...

, North Dakota.

External links

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