KCWJ (1030 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

licensed to

Blue Springs, Missouri Blue Springs is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. Blue Springs is located east of Kansas City. It is the 8th largest city in the Kansas City metropolitan area and 10th largest city in the state of Missouri. As of the 2020 cens ...

, and serves the

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

market. It is owned by Radio Vida Kansas. It is a 5,000 watt day/500 watt night station.

History

KCWJ signed on February 2, 1984 as KBSM, and was owned by Dean and Gloria Lupkey. At the time, the station aired an

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 ...

format branded as "K-Best". In 1986, the station flipped to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, only to return to adult contemporary in May of that year, along with a change in call letters to KKJC. Also in 1986, due to financial problems, The Bank of Jacomo bought the station. KKJC went silent on January 31, 1988. Shortly after the station signed off, Noble Broadcast Group bought the station; in May, the station changed call letters to KBEQ, and began simulcasting

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

station

KBEQ-FM KBEQ-FM (104.3 FM, "Q104") is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, serving the Kansas City metropolitan area market. It is owned by Steel City Media and airs a country music format. The station's studios and offices are located o ...

. On July 1, 1989, the station became an affiliate of the

Z-Rock Z Rock was a nationally Broadcast syndication#Radio syndication, syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of ...

network as KBZR. In March 1993, the station dropped the Z-Rock format, changed call letters back to KBEQ, and began simulcasting KBEQ-FM again, which flipped to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

the month prior. On March 3, 1994, KBEQ flipped to

news talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews w ...

as "Talk 1030." In March 1995,

EZ Communications EZ Communications, Inc. was a corporation with its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. In the 1970s, the small company was one of the pioneers of the easy listening on the FM broadcasting radio spectrum with 2 stations in Manassas and Richmond. Wi ...

bought KBEQ. On September 6, 1996, KBEQ changed call letters to KOWW, and flipped to classic country, branded as "Kow Kountry AM 1030". In April 1997, KBEQ was acquired by American Radio Systems. Westinghouse/

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

bought American Radio Systems' stations (including KBEQ) on September 19, 1997. In June 1998, CBS split off the radio division under the revived

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...

name. In January 1999, Infinity sold the station to Christian Broadcast Associates, who flipped it to a station Christian music format and changed its calls to KCWJ. The style of the music changed over the years from contemporary Christian to more traditional

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

mixing

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

, southern gospel, bluegrass, and

choirs A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. In February 2016, KCWJ changed their format from southern gospel to classic country, branded as "Real Country 1030". As "Real Country 1030", the station served as an affiliate for

UMKC Kangaroos The Kansas City Roos, known before July 1, 2019, as the UMKC Kangaroos and also sometimes called the Kansas City Kangaroos, are the intercollegiate teams representing the University of Missouri–Kansas City that compete in the National Collegi ...

basketball, Blue Springs High School Wildcats football, Blue Springs South High School Jaguars football, as well as an affiliate for Missouri State University Athletics and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

hockey.https://www.facebook.com/155513794639621/photos/a.158763144314686.1073741834.155513794639621/434174270106904/?type=3 In August 2021, KCWJ was sold to Radio Vida Kansas for a disclosed price of $425,000. The format changed to Spanish at the time of the sale, which closed on August 16. The station announced on their

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page on August 18 that the previous owners, Slayton Communications, had decided to retire.

References

External links

{{Country Radio Stations in Missouri Jackson County, Missouri CWJ CWJ CWJ