KOEL-FM (92.3 FM, "K92.3") is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...

serving

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica * King George Island ...

, Cedar Falls, and the surrounding area known as the Cedar Valley with a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

format. The station is owned by

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

History

Before the 92.3 frequency was acquired by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

from Connoisseur Media in 2000, the station was

-formatted KOEL-FM. This format flip also happened to other stations Cumulus acquired from Connoisseur, like

KBEA KBEA-FM (99.7 FM, "B100") is a radio station in Davenport, Iowa, serving the Quad Cities, that is licensed to Muscatine, whose format is Top 40 (CHR). The station broadcasts at a power of 100 kW, from a transmitter located near Wilton, ...

(Muscatine-Quad Cities, IA), which had been a country station, as well as KBOB "BOB Country." Before the flip to CHR on September 22, 2003, the only other stations in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Area that carried the format were distant and somewhat weak signals, including

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It ...

KZIA KZIA, known as "Z 102.9", is a radio station based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It has a Top 40 (CHR) format entirely staffed with local personalities, including morning DJs Eric Hanson, Clare, and Destiny, known as “The Morning Scramble.” The st ...

and Waverly's

KWAY-FM KWAY-FM (99.3 FM, "Y 99.3") is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Hit Radio music format and KWAY Country AM 1470 FM 96.3 has country music ranging from modern to classic. Licensed to Waverly, Iowa, United States, the station serves th ...

. Although Waverly is considered part of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Designated Market Area, KWAY's 4,600 watt signal was not the strongest. In addition, while KZIA broadcasts with 100,000 watts of power, their transmitter is located about 50 miles away. With the flip to CHR, the country format and KOEL-FM

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 assig ...

moved to 98.5 MHz, replacing the similarly formatted KKCV, "98.5 The Hog"; simultaneously, 92.3 would adopt the KKHQ-FM call letters. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which

would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including KKHQ-FM, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of

Dial Global Westwood One 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 1978. The company w ...

; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...

. The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013; KKHQ-FM was one of three stations (along with KCRR and KOEL-FM) that were placed in a divestiture trust for eventual resale within two years. In December 2016, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

approved Townsquare's request to reacquire the stations from the divestiture trust. On December 9, 2020, KKHQ-FM and KOEL-FM swapped frequencies, bringing the KOEL-FM call letters and the country format back to 92.3 FM after 17 years. The station was rebranded as "K92.3".

References

External links

K92.3 KOEL-FM official website
OEL-FM Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1971 Townsquare Media radio stations {{Iowa-radio-station-stub