KGNN-FM Cuba turns in license

[Mark Roberts]

East-central Missouri broadcaster KGNN-FM in Cuba has requested cancellation of its license. The station had been silent since last June due to an antenna system failure. The station's engineer reports that, since then, there's been a whole series of problems, culminating in copper thefts last month. The engineer also noted that the land for the station's transmitter site was going to be sold next year. The FCC filing states that the board of the station's owner, Missouri River Christian Broadcasting, decided two weeks ago to turn in the license, as well as the license for an associated translator in Rolla. The license would have expired next week as a matter of law, due to being silent for a year.

Missouri River Christian Broadcasting will continue with its "Good News Voice" stations in Washington, also in east-central Missouri, and in the St. Louis suburbs of Arnold and Ballwin. The KGNN call letters were also once associated with an AM station in Cuba that was discontinued by Missouri River Christian Broadcasting sometime between 1996 and 1998.

 

[Mark Roberts]

There's a little bit of a historical record through newspapers in or near Crawford County, so I've been able to trace KGNN-FM back to 1996, put on the air by the present owner. KGNN(AM) appears to have been discontinued in 1997, probably fairly early in the year, with license deletion occurring in January 1998. The Missouri River Christian Broadcasting website, which doesn't appear to have been updated recently, mentions that its stations are affiliated with Moody, which is consistent with earlier newspaper accounts.

I don't know much more about Missouri River Christian and have never heard any of their stations. In the 1980s and 1990s, as reflected in newspaper articles from Washington, Mo., it appeared to be a very locally-oriented broadcaster.

When it acquired the Cuba AM is unclear. That station was originally KBCC, on the air in 1978 at 1410, as a hometown-style station serving Crawford County. A decade later, there are no more mentions of it and, by 1992, it had been acquired by Missouri River Christian. I found no mention of a transfer of control to its final owner in the worldradiohistory.com archives of Broadcasting.

 

[Kent]

I don't know much more about Missouri River Christian and have never heard any of their stations. In the 1980s and 1990s, as reflected in newspaper articles from Washington, Mo., it appeared to be a very locally-oriented broadcaster.

It had the Jefferson City translator at 104.9 when I lived in that area a little more than 10 years ago. 89.9 out of Arnold was part of the same network and, I believe, had the same programming. I seem to remember it ID'ing all the stations in the chain. While Missouri River Christian's website still shows it on 104.9 in Jeff, that translator has been airing Northwestern College's "Faith Radio" since it bought McDermott's stations a few years ago.

When it acquired the Cuba AM is unclear. That station was originally KBCC, on the air in 1978 at 1410, as a hometown-style station serving Crawford County. A decade later, there are no more mentions of it and, by 1992, it had been acquired by Missouri River Christian. I found no mention of a transfer of control to its final owner in the worldradiohistory.com archives of Broadcasting.

The 1996 M Street Directory shows 1410 was acquired by Missouri River Christian sometime in 1988.

 

[Mark Roberts]

It had the Jefferson City translator at 104.9 when I lived in that area a little more than 10 years ago.

That was later sold to the KCVO network out of Camdenton, and still part of that network under University of Northwestern ownership (as you mention below).

The Rolla translator is at 100.7; without KGNN-FM it can't get an over-the-air signal and would either have to carry someone else's programming or shut down altogether. The two together provided Missouri River Christian with coverage along Interstate 44 in east-central Missouri.

89.9 out of Arnold was part of the same network and, I believe, had the same programming.

As does 89.7 in Ballwin, originally KYMC, a station owned by a branch of the YMCA. Both KGNA (Arnold) and KGNV (Washington) are on 89.9.

I seem to remember it ID'ing all the stations in the chain. While Missouri River Christian's website still shows it on 104.9 in Jeff, that translator has been airing Northwestern College's "Faith Radio" since it bought McDermott's stations a few years ago.

The 1996 M Street Directory shows 1410 was acquired by Missouri River Christian sometime in 1988.

Thanks...I have M Street Directories going back to 1994, and should have looked there! That's what all those editions show.

Radio & Records, much to my surprise, had an item about then-KBCC in its March 4, 1988 issue. The station, which was dark at the time, was donated to Missouri River Christian. The value was not specified. The R&R article noted that Missouri River Christian was applying for the Washington FM (now KGNV).

An earlier transfer of KBCC to new owners was cashless, with the consideration being an assumption of liabilities. So I don't think that was a station that did well as a commercial operation.

 

[JJFMJOCK]

KYMC-FM (now KGN?) was originally at 89.9 FM and later got a power (and tower & height) upgrade to 100 watts and a move to 89.7 FM. It went on the air in 1978. The YMCA sold it to the current owners in 2006 when they closed down the YMCA's only radio operation. I think 89.9 in Arnold was originally a high school FM but became operated by the local Baptist Church by the 1980's. The Washington FM (the newest signal) was put on te air by KGNV, KGNA, etc...

 

[Kent]

An earlier transfer of KBCC to new owners was cashless, with the consideration being an assumption of liabilities. So I don't think that was a station that did well as a commercial operation.

That has always been a difficult area to make money. In addition to most of the Rolla stations making it there, you have to compete with Mid-MO, Lake of the Ozarks, and St. Louis stations. Granted, they don't go after many advertisers in that area, but you're still competing with them for ears. When I worked at KTXY "Y107," I got tons of calls from Cuba. Same when I was on KLOZ at the Lake. KLOZ even had a few advertisers from Cuba and the Rolla area, though most of its ads were Lake and Ft. Leonard Wood areas. I'll also grant you that many of the stations people were listening to when I worked in the area hadn't upgraded their signals when KBCC signed off, but it still had to compete for ears with KZNN, KIRK, KTXY, and most of the St. Louis stations.

What's now KXMO 95.3 got its start as KZBR "The Zebra" in the mid-to-late 80's. I remember it being "The Zebra" in the summer of '88. A year or two later, it switched to satellite oldies as KLZE. I understand KLZE eventually became an affiliate of Radio AAHS before signing off the air for good in the early-to-mid 90's. It either surrendered its license or was revoked, and KXMO signed on several years later after Mahaffey got the license in auction. It probably wouldn't be able to survive as a standalone.

The Davel Broadcasting Group out of Columbus, GA owned KZBR/KLZE and also had KMYB 104.9 "Y104" out of Pawhuska, OK. KMYB was on-air in 1990 but was gone a year or two later.

 

[Mark Roberts]

KYMC-FM (now KGN?) was originally at 89.9 FM and later got a power (and tower & height) upgrade to 100 watts and a move to 89.7 FM. It went on the air in 1978. The YMCA sold it to the current owners in 2006 when they closed down the YMCA's only radio operation. I think 89.9 in Arnold was originally a high school FM but became operated by the local Baptist Church by the 1980's. The Washington FM (the newest signal) was put on te air by KGNV, KGNA, etc...

KGNX.

I don't know about Arnold. At various times, I was in St. Charles County, where I might have gotten WLCA from Godfrey, Illinois every once in a while. Most of these little high-school stations in St. Louis County didn't make it past the river.

 

[Mark Roberts]

That has always been a difficult area to make money. In addition to most of the Rolla stations making it there, you have to compete with Mid-MO, Lake of the Ozarks, and St. Louis stations. Granted, they don't go after many advertisers in that area, but you're still competing with them for ears. When I worked at KTXY "Y107," I got tons of calls from Cuba. Same when I was on KLOZ at the Lake. KLOZ even had a few advertisers from Cuba and the Rolla area, though most of its ads were Lake and Ft. Leonard Wood areas. I'll also grant you that many of the stations people were listening to when I worked in the area hadn't upgraded their signals when KBCC signed off, but it still had to compete for ears with KZNN, KIRK, KTXY, and most of the St. Louis stations.

I interviewed at KTTR/KZNN in 1979. While a well-intentioned operation...and the KZNN automation was a beast...the news department was underfunded and I took a pass on it. Rolla was also not the kind of place where I wanted to live. It seemed backward. I think Al Sikes owned the Rolla stations then and didn't put a lot of money into them. KZNN could have been a full class C but was running about 28 kw at the time.

What's now KXMO 95.3 got its start as KZBR "The Zebra" in the mid-to-late 80's. I remember it being "The Zebra" in the summer of '88. A year or two later, it switched to satellite oldies as KLZE. I understand KLZE eventually became an affiliate of Radio AAHS before signing off the air for good in the early-to-mid 90's. It either surrendered its license or was revoked, and KXMO signed on several years later after Mahaffey got the license in auction. It probably wouldn't be able to survive as a standalone.

I was in Columbia in the late 1980s. Though I had an outdoor antenna there, I usually aimed it toward St. Louis. Various upgrades were just about to start, so longer-distance reception was still possible. It sure wouldn't be now. KLZE shows in 1994 as silent in the M Street Directory. I can't imagine KXMO surviving on its own, either. Some of these stations really had no reason for being other than that it could be done.