KKOW-FM "96.9 The Kow" is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station licensed to

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 United S ...

, owned by American Media Investments.

History

96.9 FM was brought on the air in 1975, as KMRJ by Jim Harbart. At its inception it was an adult contemporary station broadcasting from studios on Quincy Street in Pittsburg. In 1982, the station was sold to John David and Richard Chegwin, who retained the format but changed the call sign to KDBQ. Ownership changed again in 1984, when Tim Menowsky and Frank Bell took ownership and branded the station KQWK "Quick Rock 97" with a hybrid

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

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. In 1986, the station was purchased by its current owner, American Media Investments, which relocated the studios across the state line to

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

. With new KKOW-FM callsign, the station continued with a rock format until the studios were moved to their current location outside Pittsburg, at which time the station became "Hot Country". The station returned to KKOW-FM after a short stint as KRKN between 1989 and 1990. In 1992, KKOW adopted the "Kow" moniker that it still holds to this day.

References

External links

* * * KOW-FM Country radio stations in the United States Pittsburg, Kansas Radio stations established in 1975 1975 establishments in Kansas {{Kansas-radio-station-stub