City Marshalltown, Iowa Frequency 1230 (kHz) Format Talk radio | Branding The Source First air date June 2, 1923 Power 1000 watts | |
KFJB (1230 AM) is a commercial radio station serving the Marshalltown, Iowa area. The station primarily broadcasts a talk radio format. KFJB is licensed to Marshalltown Broadcasting, Inc.
KFJB was founded by Earl N. Peak, who was president of Marshall Electric Company. KFJB began broadcasting in the spring of 1922 as an experimental amateur radio station. The station claims to be the first radio station in the country to remotely broadcast a high school football game. The station was three blocks away from Franklin Field and Peak was able to string a cable between the studio and the football field to facilitate the broadcast.
On June 2, 1923, the US Department of Commerce granted a commercial broadcast license to KFJB. The first transmitter was a meager 10 watts, but the station received reception reports from Canada and the Hawaiian Islands when conditions were right.
KFJB was purchased by the Times-Republican Printing Company in 1947. Its owners, the Norris family, maintained control of KFJB AM and FM until December 29, 1986, when it was purchased by Marshalltown Broadcasting, Inc. KFJB FM, which became KMTG in September 1986, was changed to KXIA in June 1987. KFJB FM began broadcast operations in 1968, with a power of 27,000 watts. It is now classified as a C1 station, which allows a maximum power of 100,000 watts and a maximum antenna height of 1,000 feet.
KFJB is one of the commercial stations in the US to have the same call letters for their entire broadcasting history. KFJB observed their 85th anniversary in 2008.