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KPNT (105.7 FM, "105-7 The Point") is a commercial
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Collinsville, Illinois Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 25,579, an increase from 24,707 in 2000. Collinsville is approximately from St. Louis, Mis ...
, and broadcasting to
Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on t ...
. It mainly airs an
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
, with some elements of
active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
. It is owned by
Hubbard Broadcasting Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard. The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, ...
. KPNT has studios and offices in Creve Coeur (with a St. Louis address). The
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is off Mackenzie Road in Shrewsbury, just outside the
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
city limits, on a tower used by numerous local TV and FM stations. KPNT broadcasts in HD, and similar to their primary channel, KPNT's HD2 and HD3 sub-channels feature a replay of
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
"The Morning After STL".


History

KPNT is considered a "move-in" station. In March 1967, the station
signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
in
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri Ste. Genevieve (french: Sainte-Geneviève ) is a city in Ste. Genevieve Township and is the county seat of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,999 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1735 by French Canadian coloni ...
, about 50 miles south of St. Louis. It had the
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
KSGM-FM and was
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
with its
sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
,
KSGM KSGM (AM 980) transmitted its first broadcast on July 5, 1947, from Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. KSGM was located at 1450 on the AM dial with a power output of 250 watts. KSGM's pioneer broadcasting schedule included local news of interest to the C ...
(AM 980). The call letters stood for K Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. (KSGM has since moved across the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
to
Chester, Illinois Chester is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, United States, on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The population was 6,814 at the 2020 census. It lies south of St. Louis, Missouri. History Founding Samuel Smith is ...
.) KSGM-FM broadcast at 27,000 watts from a 285-foot antenna, with only limited coverage of the southern part of the St. Louis
radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...
. In 1987, KSGM-FM was bought by Channel One Communications for $7.5 million. The power was boosted to 100,000 watts, giving the station coverage of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Channel One launched a
hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
music format with the new call letters, KSTZ, and was known as "Kiss FM". On March 6, 1991, KSTZ was rebranded as "The Fox" with an
album oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...
(AOR) format and new set of call letters, KFXB. KFXB began a simulcast on
sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
WFXB (now
WXOS WXOS (101.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station affiliated with ESPN Radio and licensed to East St. Louis, Illinois, broadcasting to the Greater St. Louis area. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, its studio facilities are located on O ...
) on 101.1 FM. The simulcast was broken in February 1993; following several days of stunting with various sound effects and television show theme songs, on February 17, the station adopted the current call sign, KPNT, and flipped to
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
, partially inspired by the success of St. Louis' first full-time alternative rock station KYMC, a small non-profit station broadcasting out of
Ballwin, Missouri Ballwin is a southwestern suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 31,103 as of the 2020 census. History Ballwin was established in 1837. The community was named for John Ball, who settled a ...
. The first song on "105.7 The Point" was " Radio Song" by
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
In 2000, KPNT was purchased by
Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which hav ...
, which owned rival rock station WXTM. Emmis changed the format of WXTM and shifted many of its staff to KPNT including
The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
, program director Tommy Mattern, and afternoon DJ Jeff "Woody" Fife. Many longtime KPNT staff members were dismissed. The station also shifted to a harder rock sound. Following Howard Stern's departure of terrestrial radio at the end of 2005, the station began airing the syndicated
Rover's Morning Glory ''Rover's Morning Glory'' is a syndicated hot talk morning radio show originating from Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7  FM). Hosted by radio personality Rover (Shane French), the show first began at cross-town rival WXTM (92.3 F ...
. The show never caught on and was dropped in January 2007. In 2006, KPNT expanded the playlist to include a wider variety of active rock artists while maintaining a strong emphasis on alternative artists. The new slogan, "Everything Alternative", was adopted to promote this change. In January 2013, KPNT moved its city of license from Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, to
Collinsville, Illinois Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 25,579, an increase from 24,707 in 2000. Collinsville is approximately from St. Louis, Mis ...
, and its transmitter moved north from
Jefferson County, Missouri Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739, making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county s ...
to St. Louis. The license for this change was issued by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) on February 27, 2015. The station was required to reduce its
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
from 100,000 watts to 54,000 watts and
height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...
from more than 1,300 feet to 835 feet, but the trade was considered beneficial to KPNT by moving its transmitter within the immediate St. Louis metropolitan area, now using a TV and FM tower off Mackenzie Road. In 2014, the station launched "The Rizzuto Show" as their morning program. The show runs from 6:07 to 9:33am followed by commercials until 10am. The show has won numerous awards and has earned strong ratings. The personalities are
host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...
Scott Rizzuto, Tony Patrico, musician Moon Valjean of
Greek Fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire beginning . Used to set fire to enemy ships, it consisted of a combustible compound emitted by a flame-throwing weapon. Some historians believe it could be ignited on contact w ...
/ Goldfinger and King Scott. Co-host Jeff Burton died in August 2022.


Former personalities

*Sarah Clarke *Maryellen *Eric Schmidt *Tim Christian *Alex Luke *Iceberg *Joe Moskus (Joe of "Joe and John") *John Launius (John of "Joe and John") *Jeff Burton *Harley Eddie Lightle "KANE" *Tommy T *Traci Wilde *Trisha Gazall *Hoss *Matt Costello *Tim Virgin *Kris Kosach *Adam Potts *Jennifer White *Les Aaron *Thompson "Thom" West *Woody *Drew *Loren *Becks *Zach *Mak *Michael "The Mudman" Gross *Christian B *
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
*Tony "the Whipping Boy" *Lux


Concerts and events

KPNT is also well known for promoting an annual music festival known as
Pointfest Pointfest is a large outdoor rock music festival held once a year by radio station KPNT in St. Louis, Missouri at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (formerly known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, UMB Bank Pavilion, and Riverport Amphitheate ...
. In recent years, the station has added a Throwback Pointfest.


Compilation albums

KPNT produced a series of compilation albums, featuring tracks submitted by local up and coming artists from throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. This series of albums is known as Pointessential (stylized as POINTESSENTIAL). Bands featured in the Pointessential series before they became well known have included
Gravity Kills Gravity Kills was an American industrial rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Their music was described by one critic as "a blending of eerie industrial rock with a pop-infused melodic chorus and a bit of hard-core head banging."Jacquie Kubin, "J ...
,
The Urge The Urge is an alternative rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their music combines several genres, including hardcore punk, Heavy metal music, heavy metal, ska, reggae, funk, rock music, rock, and rhythm and blues. Consistent touring throu ...
, Stir,
Modern Day Zero Modern Day Zero is a hard rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri. Formerly called Mesh—changed to Mesh STL after the name-conflict with Mesh—the band renamed and restarted as Modern Day Zero. Their single, "Sick Inside," from their first album ...
,
Cavo Cavo is an American hard rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Because of their sound and musical influences, they are sometimes classified as post-grunge. Band history In late 2000, guitarist Chris Hobbs, bassist Ryan Kemp, and drummer Chad ...
, Die Symphony, and Autovein. The CD series was an annual release from 1994 through 1999. After KPNT was sold to
Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which hav ...
, the series was temporarily suspended. It was brought back again in 2002 after a three-year break when the station renewed its commitment to the local music scene in St. Louis. * ''Pointessential, Volume 1'' (1994) * ''Pointessential, Volume 2'' (1995) * ''Pointessential, Volume 3'' (1996) * ''Pointessential, Volume 4'' (1997) * ''Pointessential, Volume 5'' (1998) * ''The Point Platinum, Version 1.0'' (1998) * ''Pointessential, Volume 6'' (1999) * ''Pointessential, Volume 7'' (2002)


Former slogans for KPNT

* "105-7 The Point, Get It" 1993-1999 * "St. Louis' New Rock Alternative, 105-7 The Point" 1999-2006 * "105-7 The Point, "Everything Alternative" 2006–2018 * "105-7 The Point, "St Louis' Rock Alternative" 2018–Present


Hoax

In May 1995, KPNT reported that
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
drummer
Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar ...
had died, reportedly receiving the information from
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
via fax. It was later revealed to be a hoax. Berry had recently undergone an operation to relieve an aneurysm he suffered during the band's tour in support of ''
Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
''.''R.E.M. , Fiction: An Alternative Biography'', David Buckley
/ref>


References


External links


Official Website
{{coord, 38.2195, N, 90.5957, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Modern rock radio stations in the United States *KPNT Hubbard Broadcasting Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Missouri