1370 AM, York

Through the Years

• 1954

  June 16, 1954- KAWL license is granted
  September 25, 1954- KAWL 1370 signs on with 500 watts daytime only.  Studios/offices located 1.2 miles South of York on Highway 41.  Personnel:  William Whitlock, VP & General Manager of Prairie States Broadcasting Company, Inc.  Melville Gleason, President & Chief Engineer; Tom Gleason, Secretary-Treasurer and Farm Service Director; Betty Rae Whitlock, Traffic Manager; Jim Robinson, News Director; Orville Jones, Special Events Manager.

• 1971

  June, 1971-  Sister station KAWL FM signs on.

• 1979

  February 20, 1979- Voluntary relinquishment of positive control of license by Melville L. Gleason, through sale & transfer of stock to E. John Gleason and E. Louise Gleason.

• 1981

  June 5, 1981- Voluntary transfer of control from Melville L. & E. Louise Gleason & E. John Gleason to Robin L. & Marcia Pozin Robson for $475,000.

• 1989

  KAWL AM is authorized for 176 watts nighttime operation.

• 1990

  December, 1990-  KAWL receives authorization to increase tower height from 310 feet to 328 feet.

• 1991

  KAWL AM & FM is sold by E. Louise Gleason Broadcasting to Central Nebraska Broadcasting for $530,000.  Buyer is Tommy Gleason Sr. and Tommy Gleason, Jr.
  September, 1991-  KAWL FM call letters are switched to KTMX, “Mix 105”.
  October, 1991- KAWL AM format switches from Country to Adult Contemporary.

• 1993

  KAWL AM drops Adult Contemporary format for Country Music (Unistar).

• 1997

  Mark Jensen joins stations as Operation Manager.   Tom Robson is General Manager.  KAWL format: Country & Talk.  Station drops Talk, remains Country.

• 2001

  (excerpts from an article that appeared in the July 4, 2001 issue of the GM Journal).

  KAWL General Manager Tom Robson hit on what he thought would be a novel way to sell KAWL AM.  He always believed that the Average “Joe” could own his own radio station, so he hatched a plan to do that.  Robson held a national contest with the winner to receive the right to apply to the FCC for transfer of license for KAWL AM.

  “We talked to our lawyers and the FCC’s lawyers and it’s completely legal,” said Robson.  “The winner of the contest would actually end up with the assets of the company, including the license, the tower, building, land, transmitter and equipment….all debt-free.”

  As the contest required a game of skill, the FCC said it was not a lottery.  The station needed to have 1,000 entries with each entry having a $1,000 entry fee.  However, if that didn’t happen, all the escrowed money would be returned.  The station needed that number to pay off all the stockholders and clear up all the station debt.  They almost got 500 entries.  The contest received national attention, but the station didn’t sell.

• 2004

  December 3, 2004-  KAWL & KTMX are sold to Mark Jensen’s MWB Broadcasting LLC for $1 million.  KAWL drops Country format and goes Oldies.  KAWL slogan is “Good Times, Great Oldies.’

• 2014

  August 28, 2014- Mark Jensen sells KAWL & sister KTMX FM to Nebraska Rural Radio Association for $1.335 million.  Sale closes in May, 2015-  NRRA also owns KRVN AM/FM in Lexington, NE; KTIC AM/FM in West Point, NE; KAMA in Cozad, NE; and KNEB AM/FM in Scottsbluff, NE.  New General Manager is Brad Liggett.  Jensen continues to own stations: The Mighty 1060 KNLV AM and V103.9 KNLV FM in Ord, NE and the new KBEAR Country FM 92.3 in Broken Bow, NE.

• 2015

  November, 2015- Nebraska Rural Radio Association purchases K282BE, a silent translator at 104.3 FM in Hastings, NE and is moved to 103.5 FM in York, NE as K278C1, returning to the air with a Classic Hits format in March of 2016, and is branded as “KOOL 103.5.”.