KJRB (790 AM) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. KJRB is owned by

Stephens Media Group Stephens Media Group is an American radio broadcasting company that owns 75 radio stations particularly in small to mid-size markets. Its flagship stations are at its headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stephens refers to itself as "A portfolio of ...

, through licensee SMG-Spokane, LLC, and airs a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

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, ...

. It calls itself "94.1 The Bear". KJRB has a daytime power of 4,400

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s; at night, to protect other stations on

AM 790 The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 790 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission classifies 790 AM as a regional broadcast frequency. In Argentina * LR6 Mitre in Buenos Aires * LRA2 ...

, it reduces power to 34 watts. It uses a

non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining t ...

at all times. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on East Stutler Road off U.S. Route 195 in

Spangle, Washington Spangle is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 280 at the 2020 census. The name comes from William Spangle, an early pioneer. History Spangle was first settled in 1872 by William Spangle, an Illinois Civil W ...

. KJRB also simulcasts on

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

94.1 K231CU, powered at 99 watts.

History

KJRB has had a long and colorful history showcasing many famous

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

s, including Randy Evans and Treasure Goodtimes (now known as Ichabod Caine and Scallops), Larry "SuperJock" Lujack, Charlie Brown (who went to KUBE 93 FM and later KJR-FM 95.7 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

), Ric Hansen, Jim Kampmann, Danny Holiday (Daniel Thygesen), Joe Michaels, Jack "Commander Dunk" Gordon, Ross Woodward, Norm Gregory, Brian Gregory, Ricky Shannon, Suds Coleman,

Rick Rydell Rick Rydell (born Richard Green, September 29, 1963) is an American talk radio host, outdoorsman, writer and author. Rydell enjoyed a long career in radio, most prominently with various stations in the Northwest. His last job in radio was as the ...

, Marie McCallister, Steven West, Ralphie Koal, with Frank Hanel and "Sunshine" Shelly Monahan. KJRB's call letters originally reflected the fact that it had been owned by Kaye-Smith Enterprises, the owners of then-

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 KJR in

. KJRB moved towards an

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 ...

format in the 1980s, a

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 ...

station in the early 1990s, and sports as 790 The Fan, from 1999 until April 2008, when the sports format was moved to sister station 1510 KGA. In return, KGA's news/talk format moved to KJRB. During the station's early years as a sports station, KJRB also broadcast "hot talk" shows such as

Don and Mike The ''Don and Mike Show'' was an American nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by the shock jocks Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, which aired from December 1985 through April 11, 2008. The show debuted on WAVA-FM in 1985 as ''The Morni ...

Tom Leykis Tom Leykis (pronounced: ; born ) is an American former talk radio personality best known for hosting ''The Tom Leykis Show'' from 1994 to 2009 (nationally syndicated), and April 2012 to 2018 (internet streamcast/podcast). The show follows the ho ...

and

Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting '' The Phil Hendrie Show'', a radio talk show where h ...

, with evening and weekend programming provided by Fox Sports Radio,

Sporting News Radio SportsMap was a sports radio network that was distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplied its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its history, thro ...

and

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

. On October 24, 2012, KJRB shifted its format to

All-News All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...

. On September 19, 2013, KJRB changed format to Classic country, branded as "The Eagle". On June 1, 2015, KJRB switched back to the sports format as "Fox Sports 790." That gave Mapleton Communications two all-sports stations in Spokane, KJRB and KGA. On March 28, 2016, KJRB changed the format to

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

, branded as "Magic 790". On March 21, 2017, KJRB changed the format to

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, branded as "94.1 The Bear" (simulcasting on FM translator K231CU 94.1 FM Spokane).Mapleton Launches 94.1 The Bear Spokane
Radioinsight - march 22, 2017 On September 30, 2019, the station was sold to

after Stephens acquired most of the properties of former owner

Mapleton Communications Mapleton Communications (MC) was a media company. It was formed in May 2001 to acquire and operate radio stations in mid-sized markets in the western United States. Mapleton owned and operated 41 radio stations (11 AM and 30 FM) in California ...

Translator

KJRB also broadcasts on the following FM translator:

Previous logos

References

External links

* *
FCC History Cards for KJRB94.1 The Bear Facebook page
{{Spokane Radio JRB Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Washington (state) Mainstream rock radio stations in the United States