City St. Louis, Missouri Frequency 630 kHz Power 5,000 watts | Broadcast area Greater St. Louis Format Christian radio | |
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First air date November 22, 1940 (as KXOK) | ||
KYFI (630 AM) is a Christian radio station broadcasting from St. Louis, Missouri. KYFI is owned and operated by Bible Broadcasting Network, Inc.
KYFI's transmitters are located near Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison.
Program and station history
From 1994 until September 20, 2013, the station was owned by Crawford Broadcasting and held the callsign KJSL. This frequency was formerly used by KXOK, the pioneer of the Top 40 radio format in the 1960s and 1970s. While KXOK had used a number of formats, it is best remembered as being a Top 40 music format during the 1960s and 1970s. In the mid-1960s, KXOK became the number one Top 40 radio station in the country, with legendary DJ Johnny Rabbitt leading the way as the station's top personality. The station was owned by Storz Communications, notably long after the death of Todd Storz, the father of the Top 40 radio format. KXOK was changed to KJSL in June 1994 under the new ownership of Crawford Broadcasting.
Bob Wells, radio host, of the longest-running daily program The Bob Wells Show, aired on KJSL from April 1999 until May 28, 2010 with a format of news of the day: Social, Theological, and political. Wells frequently interviewed guests from the political arena, including Presidential candidates as well as local politicians. J. Bradley Young was the political consultant and also guest hosted the program along with Author William J. Federer. Voice over talent and writer Bryan Kreutz voiced a Star Trek news segment for the Monday show as a Co-Producer sharing the duties with traffic director Jen Collins-Smith. Jen Collins-Smith and Bryan Kreutz graduated from Broadcast Center in "The Hill, St. Louis" district. The Bob Wells Show during its run was the only Christian radio program in Saint Louis to allow the caller to pick the topic for the full two-hour show on Fridays titled "Free for all Fridays". Pat Knox, who has been a producer with the program for much of its run, arranged most of the interviews and guests. Bob Wells interviewed many former guests and KJSL personalities on his final week on the air, notably Tim Berends.
Mornings with Tim & Al aired from 1994–2005 weekdays at 6–10 am. Hosted by Al Gross and Tim Berends, the show was often pre-recorded and mixed in as a live broadcast. The hosts were on-air teachers of evangelism frequently interviewing celebrities and sharing the Gospel with them. In the Spring of 2008 Tim Berends has signed on to have his own live one-hour program on Thursday nights at 8 pm (CST) titled "A million bibles for Kenya" and later re-titled to "Jesus & Tim in Las Vegas" .
Debra Peppers hosted one of the longest-running live radio program on KJSL from 1996 through May 2006 titled Talk from the Heart, a two-hour call-in interactive radio program with uplifting Christian topics. The program was produced by current KJSL Producer Pat Knox who was the lead producer for the program from July 2002 to May 2006.
In August 1998 The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story relating to a controversial billboard off of a major interstate near Saint Louis titled "Hell Hates Tim and Al" with flames depicted around the edges of the billboard. KJSL posted the billboard to get the word out to the public to capture the attention of potential listeners to tune in to the program "Mornings with Tim & Al".
The station's emphasis shifted briefly towards Contemporary Christian music in April 2006 as a leading theme during the rush hour drive time as well as morning commute in an effort to draw in a broad audience.