690 AM, Terrytown (Scottsbluff)

Through the Years

• 1961

  June 15, 1961-  Station sign on.  Studio located at 1A Terry Blvd.  Transmitter- Intersection of Terry Blvd and Nebraska Highway 29 in Terrytown, NE.

• 1962

  Station transfers  to Jack Gilbert and Robert T. Marland, dba Western Nebraska Broadcasting Co.

  July, 1962-  Call letters are changed to KEYR.

  Mutual Broadcast System network for the first few years.

  Jack Gilbert, President & General Manager, Robert Marland, Station Manager.

• 1963

  March, 1963-  Marland buys out Gilbert for full control for $2,000.  Marland describes format as Pop Standards for young adults, no rock, “bright and breezy.”

• 1966

  October, 1966- Transfer from Robert Marland to Nebraska Rural Radio Association for $29,800.  Buyer is a nonprofit, non-stock membership corporation, owned by over 4,000 farmers and ranchers, and is licensee of KRVN A/F in Lexington, NE.

• 1971

  August, 1971-  Transfer from Nebraska Rural Radio Association to Guy W. Embree and Richard W. Baumgartner.   W. Doc Embree, President, John Embree, Manager.

  Format:  Country

• 1975

  Transmitter is moved to 76 South Street in Terrytown.

• 1978

  Station is sold by Western Nebraska Broadcasting, Inc. (G.W. Embree and Richard Baumgartner) to Jim Bickling and Milt Vandeventer for $380,000.  Jim Bickling is President and General Manager.

  Studios/offices move to transmitter location, 76 South Street in Terrytown.

• 1981

  Studios/Offices move to 1845 10th Street in Gering.

• 1985

  Adds CNN network. Format-Country

• 1986

  December, 1986-Sold by Western Nebraska Broadcasting Company (Jim Bickling, Principal Owner) to Tracy Corporation (Mike Tracy) for $164,000. Buyer also owns KMOR FM, Scottsbluff.

  Studios/offices moved to 2002 Char Avenue.  Mike Tracy, General Manager.

  Format is moved to Middle of the Road, Farm.  Still with CNN.

• 1987

  Night power is authorized at 64 watts.

• 1989

  Call letters are changed to KOAQ.  Format: Oldies.  Switches from CNN to Unistar in 1990, Jones in 1993.   2-man news staff.

• 2006

  Rebroadcasts co-owned KBFZ 101.1 FM, Kimball, 100%.  Oldies format.  (Tracy Broadcasting is in the process of selling KBFZ to Legacy Communications for $135,000.)

• 2007

  December, 2007-Sold to Hometown Family Radio, a subsidiary of Legacy Communications in a a package deal that includes KOLT-1230 AM(Scottsbluff), KOZY 93.3 FM (Gering) and KMOR 101.3 FM (Bridgeport) for $1.78 Million.

• 2012

  December, 2012-  Drops Oldies for Regional Mexican from La Grand D network.

• 2013

  Sold to Bluffs Broadcasting (Armada Media) as part of a six-station Scottsbluff package that includes two stations in North Platte.  Armada Media had been operating the stations on a Local Marketing Agreement.

• 2014

  Adds translator K269DO 101.7 purchased from My Bridge Radio for $12, 500.

• 2018

  Legacy Communications/Hometown Family Radio retakes day-to-day operations of its six stations in the Scottsbluff market and two in the North Platte market after nearly five years of Armada Media running the stations  under an LMA.  Format flips to Classic Country.

  Translator K269DO is sold to the Nebraska Rural Radio Association for $40,000.

• 2019

  Station swaps call letters with co-owned silent station on 1320AM, becoming KOLT.  Programming assumes KOLT’s News Talk lineup.

  November, 2019-  Station is sold to Nebraska Rural Radio Association as part of a seven-station package that included six in the Scottsbluff market and the seventh in Holdrege, for $1.75 million.  The six Scottsbluff signals join two stations already owned by NRRA in the market.  With the market cap at six stations, KETT FM was sold to VSS Communications and the license for the currently-silent KOLT 1320 was surrendered when no buyer emerged.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• 2022

  Transmitter is moved to Kolt Lane just south of Nebraska State Highway 92 on the west edge of Scottsbluff.  Non-directional operation is authorized at 1,100 watts days, 74 watts nights.  Site and the existing tower had been used by KOLT 1320 until silenced in 2018.