KQHT (96.1 FM, "96.1 The Fox") 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 ...

broadcasting a classic hits format serving

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, that is licensed to

Crookston, Minnesota Crookston is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Polk County. The population was 7,482 at the 2020 census. It is part of the " Grand Forks, ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "Greater Grand Forks". Crookst ...

. It began broadcasting in 1985. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KQHT primarily competes with Leighton Broadcasting's

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 ...

1590 KGFK/95.7 K239BG/97.5 K248DH "Rock 95". KQHT also broadcasts

University of North Dakota men's ice hockey The North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team of the University of North Dakota. They are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

games as the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

, while sister station KSNR broadcasts

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

men's and women's basketball home games, and sister station KKXL-AM broadcasts University of North Dakota women's ice hockey.

Programming

In addition to its music programming, the station broadcasts play-by-play coverage of University of North Dakota football and men's hockey games. KQHT also broadcasts

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...

' '' Casey Kasem's American Top 40'' on Sunday mornings.

History

The station began life in 1985 as KLZC, and become KQHT in 1986. KQHT began as a

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 in 1986 as "Magic 96" competing with XL93 (KKXL-FM/92.9). In 1998 it changed to 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. It renamed itself "KQ96" in 1996, and "Mix 96.1" in 1998. In the late 1980s, the on-air talent included Ross Holland (Fast Eddie Fingers) Program Manager, Steve Gunner (future Program Manager), Rick Acker, Tim Burns, and Ron Phillips (The Iceman). During that early 1990s battle with XL93, there were personalities like Magic Mark & Paul Braun, Josh Jones, Shelley Carr, "Smilin'" Wade Williams, "Jammin" Jay Murphy, Denny "Crash" Shields, Michael Knight (Mike Cruise), Pat Ebertz, Bobby Brady, Minimum Wage Mike, Harry Callahan, Kim Cooley, Jack Hammer, and Nick Logan. In 2000, Clear Channel bought KQHT and several other radio stations in Grand Forks. KQHT changed its format to classic hits (a hybrid of

and

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 ...

music formats) calling itself as "96.1 The Fox". Clear Channel also got a contract with the University of North Dakota to broadcast Fighting Sioux basketball, hockey, and football games. Hockey and football games are broadcast on KQHT while basketball games are aired on sister station KSNR 100.3. The slogan was changed from "Classic Hits" to "World Class Rock" in 2004, and programming evolved towards a broad-based

format. The station shifted to an updated classic hits version of the KSNR "Kool 100.3"

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 after KSNR changed from oldies 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, ...

in 2005. When competitor KNOX-FM/94.7 changed from classic country to

in 2007, The Fox shifted back to a

format. KQHT "96.1 The Fox" switched back to classic hits in 2010, with the "Your Station for the Classics" slogan, after KNOX-FM/94.7 changed from classic rock to Top 40 (CHR) as KZGF "Z94.7" to compete with sister station

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

Top 40 (CHR) KKXL-FM/92.9 "XL93".

References

External links

96.1 The Fox official website
* {{coord, 47.845, N, 96.840, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations in Minnesota Radio stations established in 1985 1985 establishments in Minnesota IHeartMedia radio stations