City St. Joseph, Missouri First air date 1955 | Frequency 1270 kHz Format Classic Hits | |
Translator(s) 102.5 K273BF (St. Joseph) Power 1,000 watts day
36 watts night | ||
KGNM (1270 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. (NOTE: Changed from contemporary Christian to classic hits on June 1, 2013) Licensed to St. Joseph, Missouri, United States. The station is currently owned by Orama, Inc.
Staff includes as of 2010 : General Manager Chris Meikel, Music Director: Jeremy Sharp, On Air personality: David Hugger.
Kgnm has also started in 2010 an intern program for highschool students that are interested in working in the music and broadcast industries.
KGNM is also now on FM translator K273BF 102.5 FM in St. Joseph, MO.
Station History
The station was originally owned by Julius D. Spears, an Overland Park, KS real estate developer and placed on the air originally as KUSN-AM on February 1, 1956 on 1270 kHz with 1kW daytime only. The transmitter was at the present Leonard Road location, with studios at the historic Hotel Robidoux, in downtown St. Joseph. The Robidoux studios were previously used by KFEQ radio, and KVAK (now KAIR in Aitchison KS.) In 1958, Spears sold the station to Kansas broadcast group owner Wyman Schnepp after being unable to make the station financially viable. Schnepp sold the station only a few months later in 1958, to Charles Norman, St. Louis area broadcaster. The studios moved to the 5th floor of the Howitt Building (also known as the KFEQ building) at 8th and Frederick Avenue, in studios also previously inhabited by KFEQ radio. Still unable to make the daytimer financially viable, the station was sold in 1959 to Frederick Reynolds, who owned the facility until 1977. After the application to broadcast after sunset was denied by the FCC in 1960, the station placed an FM transmitter on the air from the Howitt Bldg. location, with 3kW ERP on 105.1 MHz. In 1972, the station moved its studios and the FM transmitter to their present transmitter location. In 1974, KUSN FM was increased to an ERP of 27.5 kW, new call letters KSFT were assigned and the station was programmed with the Shulke automated beautiful music format. The station was sold to Hunter Broadcasting Group from Jacksonville, Illinois in 1977. Upon sale in 1979 to Orama, the AM and FM combination were divested and the KUSN call letters abandoned. The FM was sold to AM competitor KKJO at that time. The Howitt Building was demolished in the early 1970s due to urban renewal.
As an AM music format daytimer in the 1960s the station struggled with ratings and competition from full-time AM and later FM stations in the St. Joseph and Kansas City markets. A brief summary of the formats of the station include Top 40 prior to 1967, MOR from 1967 to 1969, Country from 1969 until 1979. The FM simulcast the AM formats during much of the same period, and also ran a beautiful music format. While the station was small it had a strong impact on the market and was the launching pad for the early careers of many major market radio broadcasting personalities, George Michael of ABCs Sports Machine, Skinny Bobby Harper (often attributed as the inspiration for the Dr. Johnny Fever character on WKRP), Rich Brother Robbin of KCBQ San Diego, Don Barrett, author of LA Radio People, Bill Johnson (newsman at WLS Chicago), voice over artist Matt Cates.