106.3 FM, Lincoln

Through the Years

• 1968

  March 1, 1968- KECK AM is acquired by J-P Enterprises.

• 1972

  October 2, 1972-  KECK FM license is granted.

• 1973

  February 23, 1973-KECK  106.3FM signs on with 2,900 watts at 145 feet.  Owner:  J-P Enterprises, Inc (James Treat, President).  Studios/offices/transmitter:  56th & Broadcast Lane, Lincoln.   Format:  Middle of the Road.

  March, 1973-  FCC grants call letter change from KECK to KHAT.

• 1975

  KHAT FM format flips from MOR to Country.  In the mid-70’s, KHAT was Lincoln’s country radio station.  Air personalities included Keith Cornelius, Billy Egr, Ray Kresha, Dave Kaye and Larry Reed.  KHAT was known for their “Proud Country Festival” which featured popular acts like Ferlin Husky, Susan Raye, Nat Stuckey, Billy “Crash Craddock and Tanya Tucker.  The festivals were held in downtown Lincoln.

• 1983

  Format flips from Country & Western to Mellow Rock.

   

• 1984

  June, 1984-  Station is sold by J-P Enterprises (James Treat) to Capital Cities Broadcasting, Inc. (Robert D. Hanna 40%, William M. Ledford 60%) for $1.388 million.   Deal fails to close

• 1985

  Call letters are changed to KGLT.

  December, 1985-  J-P Enterprises sells to TM Communications, a publicly-traded, Dallas based programming distribution company (Pat Shaughnessy, President) for approximately $1.025 million, including both KHAT AM and KHAT FM.

• 1986

  April, 1986-  Call letters are changed from KGLT back to KHAT.

• 1988

  April, 1988-  TM sells KHAT AM & FM to Pat Shaughnessy, four stations for $7.1 million.  The deal includes KBUL FM, Carson City, NV and WAVH, Mobile, AL.   Company is now under Marathon Communications (Dallas, TX).   General Manager-Dan Charleston, Local Sales Manager-Peg Jones, Operations Manager- Scott Howitt, News Director- Mark Whitney, Chief Engineer- Dick Simonsen.  FM programming duplicates the AM 100%- Adult Contemporary.

• 1990

  WAVH and KBUL licenses are transferred to the chief creditor of AT&T Credit Corporation for assumption of $5.5 million in debt, while selling KHAT AM/FM to Tate Communications, Inc. (Harvey Tate) for $1.325 million.  Studios/offices 4949 Yankee Hill Road in Lincoln.
  Sale is granted on June 25, 1990.  Jim Keck is General Manager.  Antenna height is raised to 213 feet.   Tim Sheridan, News Director, Dave Agnew, Chief Engineer.

  July, 1990-  Station gets new call letters KMXA and is re-branded as “Mix 106”.  Easy Listening/Jazz format, which moves to Adult Contemporary in 1991.

   

   

• 1992

  March 2, 1992- Format flip to active rock as “106.3 The Blaze” with new call letters, KIBZ.  Kathy Fife, Station Manager.

• 1993

  April 1, 1993-  Rock Steady, Inc. (Kimberly J. Krueger) acquires KIBZ for $550,000 from Tate Communications.  Doug Agnew is Executive Vice-President /General Manager.

  November 5, 1993-  KHAT AM is acquired for $500.  Later goes dark.   Studios:  5143 S. 48th Street, Lincoln.

• 1995

  October, 1995- KBIZ and KHAT AM/KKNB sold from Rock Steady, Inc to Lincoln Radio Acquisition Corporation, New York (Kraig G. Fox, President/Owner) for $3.225 million.

• 1996

  May 23, 1996-  Stations go from Rock Steady in an involuntary assignment of license to Calvin & Suzanne Krueger.

  July 24, 1996- Triathlon Broadcasting Company (Norm Feurer, President/CEO) buys stations as part of an 18-station group for $43.8 Million.
  Stations move to 4630 Antelope Road.  Julie Gade, General Manager

   

• 1998

  September, 1998- Capstar buys Traithlon for $190 million.  Sale includes 29 stations including KIBZ Lincoln,  KZKX Seward, KKNB Crete, KTGL Beatrice, KTNP Bennington, KGOR and KFAB Omaha and KXKT Glenwood, IA.

• 2004

  March 19, 2004- KIBZ calls and programming move to 104.1 FM, while 106.3 goes to an Adult Contemporary format as KLMY.

  March 24, 2004- KLMY is branded as “My 106.3.”

• 2000

  August 30,2000- Clear Channel buys Triathlon.

• 2007

  April 10, 2007-  Three Eagles Communications (Rolland C. Johnson, Chairman, Gary Buchanan, CEO) purchases the stations and relocates to 3800 Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln.  Jim Keck, General Manager.

  September 18, 2007-  KLMY drops Adult Contemporary format and adopts KFRX’s Top 40 format and call letters after 102.7 FM flipped to AC and was later sold and moved to the Omaha market.

• 2014

  February 10, 2014-Three Eagles sells to Digity, LLC (Dean Goodman). Sale includes 47 co-owned stations was finalized on September 12, 2014 for $66.5 million.

• 2016

  February 25, 2016- Digity LLC and its 124 stations are acquired by Alpha Media (Larry Wilson) for $264 million.