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KRFN (100.9 FM) is a commercial
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 A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
to
Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno, Nevada, Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the List of citi ...
and broadcasting to the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area. The station is owned by the Evans Broadcast Company, Inc. and it airs 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 ...
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, ...
branded as "Fun 101." KRFN has studios and offices on East Plumb Lane in Reno. Its
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 in the Steamboat Hills section of Reno, near Interstate 580. KRFN is a Class A FM station, which means it is limited in power to 6,000
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. Programming is also heard on 250 watt
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 ...
K286AG at 105.1 in
Carson City Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The m ...
.


History

On July 1, 1983, the station first
signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...
as KNAA. It was owned by Donald S. Beck, who served as its General Manager, Sales Manager and Program Director. The station broadcast at only 300 watts and carried an adult contemporary format. It was later sold to Johnson Broadcasting, which also owned AM 1270 KPLY (now KBZZ). The format remained adult contemporary but the
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 ...
changed to KKMR. In 1993, the station changed call letters to KNDE, airing a
soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
format. In March 1998, the station was acquired by Salt Broadcasting, which already owned 100.1
KTHX-FM KTHX-FM (94.5 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station broadcasting a regional Mexican radio format, format. City of license, Licensed to Sun Valley, Nevada, Sun Valley, Nevada, it serves the Reno metropolitan area and Lake T ...
, an
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
station also serving the Reno
media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...
. Salt Broadcasting switched 100.9's call letters to KRZQ, and began airing an
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
music format, branded as "Reno's New Rock Alternative." At 12 noon on September 12, 2011, KRZQ changed to a
hot 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. KRZQ began calling itself "Reno's Best Music Mix" and "Mix 100.9." The change in format did not result in immediate job losses, as many personalities started simply using different names. The
hot 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 ...
was designed to fill the void from when
KLCA KLCA (96.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Tahoe City, California, broadcasting to the Reno, Nevada, and Lake Tahoe areas. KLCA airs a contemporary hit radio format branded "Alice 96-5". The station, part of Tom Quinn's Reno Media ...
dropped it for
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 ...
by July
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
. On September 28, 2011, KRZQ changed call letters to KMXW, to go with the "Mix 100.9" branding. On June 20, 2014, following KURK 92.9's sale to the
Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...
, it was announced that KMXW would adopt the
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 ...
format heard on KURK. It would become "100.9 The Bandit" once the sale was completed. KURK 92.9 then flipped to EMF's
Air 1 Air1 is an American Christian radio network owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry. It primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network. History On July 15, ...
Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...
network. (It has since become KLRH airing EMF's
K-Love K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music. As of June 2019, the network's progr ...
network.) On August 1, 2014, the KURK call sign moved to 100.9 FM. In 2016, KURK rebranded as "100.9 K-Rock" and flipped to a broad mainstream rock format, playing fifty years of rock, trying to take on all of Reno's other rock stations at once. The station used a "shut up and rock" approach, limiting DJ chatter to stress its music commitment. On February 15, 2017, KURK changed its call letters to KRFN. That was followed on March 7, 2017, with a switch from mainstream rock to adult contemporary, branded as "Fun 101".


KRFN-HD2

On August 25, 2018, KRFN launched 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 ...
format on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "95.1 The Wolf." It was
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
on FM translator K236CN 95.1 MHz in Reno. The country format moved from KWFP 92.1 FM Sparks, which switched to
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
. In late September 2021, KRFN-HD2 changed its format from country to Top 40/CHR, branded as "94.9 The Party." It is simulcast on translator K235DC 94.9 MHz in Reno. The station currently airs the live syndicated ''Liveline with Mason Kelter'' every weeknight. On December 26, 2023, K235DC, after having dropped its Top 40/CHR format in mid-November to
stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...
with
Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
as "K-Santa", switched origin stations from KRFN-HD2 to KRAT-HD2 and launched an adult album alternative format, branded first as "Reno's Newest Radio Station" during a brief
soft launch A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it wi ...
period, then as "94.9 X" upon its full launch on the 28th; the format and branding was previously used on
KTHX-FM KTHX-FM (94.5 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station broadcasting a regional Mexican radio format, format. City of license, Licensed to Sun Valley, Nevada, Sun Valley, Nevada, it serves the Reno metropolitan area and Lake T ...
before it had dropped the format in 2021.A New X Marked in Reno
Radioinsight - December 29, 2023


Previous logos


References


External links

* {{coord missing, Nevada RFN Radio stations established in 1983 1983 establishments in Nevada Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Sparks, Nevada