ERP 50,000 watts Class C2 Frequency 107.9 MHz Format Country music Area Kansas First air date 1980 | HAAT 150 meters Facility ID 14239 City of license Winfield Owner AG Network Group Branding US 107.9 | |
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Broadcast area Rural Cowley, Sedgwick & Sumner Counties in Kansas Former callsigns KSJM (7/12/00-12/31/07)
KSOK-FM (6/30/95-7/12/00)
KWKS (4/02/80-6/30/95)
790212AG (??-4/02/80) | ||
KWLS is an American FM radio station that broadcasts a Classic Country format on the 107.9 MHz frequency serving Winfield, Kansas.
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Format history
107.9 FM signed in 1980 as KWKS, an adult contemporary station licensed to and serving Winfield (as is stated in their call letters). It changed its call letters to KSOK-FM in 1995. The station was sold to Sherman Broadcasting, with hopes of bringing an urban-formatted station to Kansas and to compete against KDGS.
"107-9 Jamz"
The 107-9 Jamz format debuted in 2000 with the call letters KSJM and an Urban AC format. The station's first song was "Got To Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn. The station was the Wichita affiliate of the Tom Joyner Morning Show. In 2002, the station started adding Jazz into its programming after the demise of Smooth Jazz station KWSJ 98.7 (Now Sports KNSS-FM). The station's first studios were located in the Equity Bank building at Kellogg and Rock in East Wichita. A few years later, the station relocated its studios to the Carriage Parkway shopping center near Central and Edgemoor.
In 2004, KSJM added hip hop to the playlist, shifting towards an Urban Contemporary format. The station also picked up Doug Banks for morning drive. Banks' morning show was later replaced by a local morning show. In 2007, KSJM's local morning show was replaced by Steve Harvey.
KSJM was co-owned through a joint partnership with Sherman Broadcasting (the original main owner) and Carter Broadcast Group (owners of Kansas City urban station KPRS and gospel KPRT).
Though the station was noted for serving a niche audience to the market near Wichita, the station had moderate to low ratings due to the location of its transmitter being situated near Winfield, which is over 50 miles from Wichita.
"US 107.9."
On October 10, 2007, the two companies sold the station to Larry Steckline's AG Network Group due to declining financial revenues. On January 15, 2008, AG Network announced that KSJM would flip from Urban to Country as KWLS "US-107.9." [1]. The station switched formats on January 19, 2008. KWLS got its call letters from an AM station in Pratt, Kansas (Super Hits 1290) that was formerly owned by Steckline in the 1980s & 1990's. Currently, no AM station has the KWLS call; hence the 107.9 FM does not have to use the -FM suffix.