KMKO-FM (95.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is an American

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 serve the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Lake Crystal, Minnesota Lake Crystal is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, United States, established in 1869. The population was 2,539 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Mankato-North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area. History First arrivals In 1853, ...

, United States, the station serves the

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 ...

area and the Minnesota River Valley. The station airs an

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 ...

format. The station is rebroadcast in Mankato on

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

K269EC 101.7 FM, which provides a stronger signal in the downtown area.

History

The station went on the air as KQYK on September 29, 2005, with a

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, ...

format as "The Eagle". On September 26, 2007, the station flipped to active rock as "95.7 The Blaze," with a format and logo similar to that of sister station

KIBZ KIBZ (104.1 FM, "104.1 The Blaze") is a commercial radio station licensed to Crete, Nebraska, and serving the Lincoln metropolitan area. It airs an active rock radio format and is owned by Alpha Media. KIBZ's studios are on Cornhusker H ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. On February 1, 2012, KQYK changed their

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 as ...

to KMKO-FM. On February 20, 2012, at 11am, KMKO-FM switched to a news/talk format, as '' Fake It'' by

Seether Seether are a South African Rock music, rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion with ...

faded into ''

The Jim Rome Show ''The Jim Rome Show'' is an American sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 12pm to 3pm Pacific Time. The show is produced in Los Angeles, syndicated by Westwood One, and can be heard on aff ...

''. The station flipped back to Active Rock as "95-7 The Rock Station" on December 6, 2012. KMKO-FM is owned by Alpha Media (Digity, LLC), through licensee Digity 3E License, LLC, with sister stations

KEEZ KEEZ-FM (99.1 FM, "Z99") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mankato, Minnesota, and serving the Minnesota River Valley. The station broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format. The station is owned by Alpha Med ...

, KYSM-FM and

KRBI-FM KRBI-FM (105.5 FM, "River 105") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of St. Peter, Minnesota and broadcasting to the Mankato area and the Minnesota River Valley. It currently airs a classic hits music format. The stati ...

. As of 2018, KMKO-FM has rebranded as “Rock 95” with no change in format. In May 2024, Alpha Media let go most on-air staffers in their Mankato cluster, which includes KMKO, as part of nationwide cuts. The following month, KMKO began airing

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 ...

's "Rock 2.0" format.https://www.keyc.com/2024/05/22/alpha-media-group-lays-off-mankato-on-air-talent/

References

External links

* * {{coord, 44, 03, 06, N, 94, 18, 00, W, type:landmark_region:US-MN_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Minnesota Radio stations established in 2005 2005 establishments in Minnesota