KATO-FM (93.1

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) is a

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Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

( licensed to New Ulm) and serving the Minnesota River Valley. The station airs a classic hits radio format. KATO is owned by Linder Radio Group.

History

This station was originally KNUJ-FM, and paired with KNUJ in New Ulm. By the early 1980s, as the station increased its power, it moved its broadcasting studios and its primary focus to the larger city of Mankato. It was run by Brennon Andrew Harris-Williams. As KXLP, they aired 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 late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

format on and off from 1982 to 2007. They flipped to

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

in 1986 as "Lite Rock 93 KXLP" amid a large outcry from loyal listeners. A few years later, they flipped back to rock, shifting toward classic rock in 1995. For many years, they were co-owned with KYSM-FM and KYSM, first by James Ingstad (as Pro Radio Group), then Cumulus Broadcasting, then

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. The station was purchased in August 2007 from Clear Channel by Linder Radio Group, a.k.a. Minnesota Valley Broadcasting Co., which also acquired sister station KYSM. Current sister stations include KTOE, KDOG, KXAC and a new sign-on at 94.1 FM. At 5:00 p.m. on September 21, 2007, KXLP's

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, on-air staff and format moved from 93.1 FM to the new sign-on at 94.1 FM, which made its on-air debut as the new KXLP. KXLP's former frequency changed call letters to KATO-FM, which launched a country music format (branded as "Minnesota 93") three days later. On September 2, 2022, KATO-FM's country format was moved to sister station KXAC as ''Minnesota 100'', and the station began stunting with a loop of “ Macarena” by Los del Rio over the Labor Day weekend. On September 6, KATO-FM flipped to classic hits as ''93.1 KATO Hits'', with the first song being " Never Gonna Give You Up" by

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, radio DJ and podcaster. He gained fame through his association with the production trio Stock Aitken Waterman, releasing the 1987 album ''Whenever You Need Somebody'', which sol ...

; the station primarily focuses on hits from the 1980s and 1990s. With the format change, the morning show from sister station KDOG moved to KATO-FM. KATO-FM competes with

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

’s KRBI), which runs a '70s-'90s-based classic hits format.

References

External links

93.1 KATO Hits
Radio stations in Minnesota New Ulm, Minnesota Radio stations established in 1966 1966 establishments in Minnesota Classic hits radio stations in the United States {{Minnesota-radio-station-stub