95.3 FM, Lincoln, NE

Through the Years

• 1958

  June 22, 1958-KFMQ 95.3 signs on with 320 watts of power and antenna at 125 feet.  Studios and Transmitter are located at 1025 Terminal Building, 10th & O Streets in Lincoln.  Station is owned and managed by Herbert Burton.   Format is Classical music and some jazz programming.

• 1962

  Station increases power to 1,000 watts at 125 feet.

• 1966

  February, 1966- Station is sold to KFMQ, Inc (Steve Agnew) for $80,000.  Format:  Middle of the Road music daytime, Progressive Rock at night.

• 1970

  September, 1970-  Format goes to all Rock as Q-102 Nebraska’s Rock & Roll Legend.

• 1972

  Frequency moves to 101.9 with 100,000 watts at 125 feet.  Height is later increased to 180 feet.

• 1979

  KFMQ is sold to Telegraph-Herald, Inc. (Robert Woodward, Dubuque, IA) for $1.8 million plus a $200,000 non-compete agreement.  Buyer also owns KLMS 1490 AM.

• 1985

  Studios are moved to 1540 South 70th, Suite 200 in Lincoln with co-owned KLMS.

• 1988

  A new 1132 feet tower is constructed at a site near Eagle, NE.

  July, 1988- Station is sold to Midwest Communications (William Williamson & Duke Wright, Green Bay, WI) for $2.8 million, which includes AM KLMS 1480.  Midwest sets up KLMS/KFMQ, Inc as a subsidiary.

• 1990

  Call letters are adjusted to KFMQ-FM when co-owned KLMS 1480 changes calls to KFMQ-AM.

• 1992

  October, 1992- Format flips to New Country, Omaha’s Young Country.  Call letters are changed to KYNN The Hit Kicker. The Omaha studio opened in Millard at 143rd and Y Streets in order for the studio to remain in the 1 mv pattern of the station.

• 1995

  KYNN is sold to John Mitchell (Mitchell Broadcasting) for $1.7 million, which also includes an Omaha translator at 107.7 FM at 75 watts on the old WOWT tower at 35th & Farnam, Omaha.

  Studios are moved to 1001 Farnam, with co-owned Mitchel stations, KQKQ and KKAR.

  February, 1995-  The format is flipped from country to Alternative rock as 101.9/107.7 The Edge.  

  April, 1995-  Call letters are changed from KYNN to KGDE.

• 1996

  The Edge is named Small Market category Modern Rock Station of the year by Billboard Magazine.

• 1997

  Lightning strikes hits the Eagle tower, forcing a power reduction on an auxiliary antenna on the tower at 500 feet.  Power is reduced for six weeks for $100,000 in repairs.  As a result of poor signal coverage in Omaha, ratings and revenue suffer.

• 1998

  Apri 13, 1998- Format changes to Classic Hits, The Fox.   Call letters are changed to KZFX on April 24.

• 2000

  Station is sold to Waitt Media as part of the Mitchell Broadcasting group for $36.6 million.

  November, 2000-  Studios are moved to 5011 Capitol, Omaha.

• 2002

  Transmitter is moved from the Eagle tower location  21 miles closer to Omaha on the KGBI tower, 4 miles southwest of Springfield, NE

  February, 2002-  Format flips to Light Rock and call letters are changed to KLTQ.

• 2005

  Waitt merges with New Radio Group forming NRG Media (Mary Quass, President).

• 2007

  KLTQ gains the Springfield tower to itself when KGBI moves to the television antenna farm at 72nd & Crown Point, Omaha.

  December 26, 2007- Station flips to Adult Hits as “101.9 The Big O” with new call letters KOOO two days later.

• 2012

  Community of license is changed from Lincoln to the Omaha suburb of La Vista.

• 2014

  Format is adjusted to 80’s-based Classic Rock, The Keg. 

• 2020

  January 13, 2020- KOOO shifted the format back to a straight forward variety hits direction, while retaining the “Keg” moniker.