KWVR (1340 AM) 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 ...

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 serve

Enterprise, Oregon Enterprise is a city in Wallowa County, Oregon. Enterprise serves as Wallowa County's county seat. The population was 1,940 in the 2010 census.

, United States. The station, established in 1960, and its FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

KWVR-FM are currently owned by Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC. Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC, is wholly owned by family members Richard, Mary, and David Frasch.

Programming

KWVR broadcasts a

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

format which features a mix of local and syndicated news, talk, sports, and information programming.

Syndicated programs

Weekday syndicated programs include

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

s hosted by

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

Lars Larson Lars Kristopher Larson (born March 6, 1959)"Lars Kristopher Larson". ''Who's Who in the West'', 26th ed. Accessed June 17, 2013 via LexisNexis. is an American conservative talk radio show host based in Portland, Oregon. Larson worked in televis ...

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American political commentator, stand-up comedian, talk show host, writer, actor and former sportscaster. Miller was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' fro ...

, and

When Radio Was ''When Radio Was'' is a syndicated radio program that re-airs old-time radio programs. History The series began as a local program in Chicago, hosted by Carl Amari, who was the founder of Radio Spirits, Inc., which sells tapes and CDs of old tim ...

, plus ''

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...

'' hosted by

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...

. Notable weekend programming includes a computer advice show with

Kim Komando Kimberly Ann Komando (born July 1, 1967) is an American radio personality and the host of two daily radio shows and one weekend radio show about consumer technology. On her weekly call-in show, she provides advice about technology gadgets, websi ...

, ''Moneytalk'' with Bob Brinker, '' Red Steagall's Cowboy Corner'', ''The Cowboy Show'' with Ken Overcast, and ''The Horse Show'' with Rick Lamb.

Sports programs

Sporting events broadcast by KWVR include

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

Beavers football.

History

The beginning

This station began regular broadcast operations on June 1, 1960, serving

Wallowa County, Oregon Wallowa County () is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to '' Oregon Geographic N ...

, with 250

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 of power on a frequency of 1340

kHz 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 uni ...

. The station was assigned the KWVR

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 ...

by the

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

on. Original station owner Gene W. Wilson also served as company president, commercial manager, and general manager of KWVR. Through the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, the station aired a mixed format of middle of the road and

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing sto ...

music.

A decade of change

Nearly fifteen years after construction on KWVR began, owner Gene W. Wilson agreed to sell the station to David D. Dirks in a deal that closed in November 1974. Dirks continued the station's mix of MOR and country music through the end of the 1970s. In November 1979, David D. Dirks reached an agreement to sell KWVR to High Valley East Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 27, 1979. Just over two years later, in February 1982, High Valley East Broadcasting, Inc., contracted to sell this station to Tri Star Communications Corporation, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 5, 1982. The new owners filed an application with the FCC in November 1983 to increase the station's daytime signal strength from 250 to 1,000 watts. The FCC granted KWVR a new

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

on March 22, 1983, to allow the upgrade and adding a nighttime signal at 250 watts.

The Perkins era

In June 1984, Tri Star Communications Corporation, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Wallowa Valley Radio Broadcasting Corporation, a company wholly owned by Lee D. Perkins and Carol-Lee Perkins, a married couple. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 13, 1984, and the transaction was consummated on November 19, 1984. In addition to splitting management and production duties as a couple, Lee Perkins also did play-by-play for local

high school sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing a ...

, not missing a game for more than 24 years until

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

forced a break in his streak in March 2008. The Perkinses lived in the KWVR

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

building until they sold the station in December 2008.

The Frasch era

After nearly a quarter-century of continuous ownership, Wallowa Valley Radio Broadcasting Corporation reached an agreement in December 2008 to sell this station and its KWVR-FM

to Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC, for a combined sale price of $650,000. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 27, 2009, and the transaction was consummated on March 1, 2009. Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC, is wholly owned by family members Richard, Mary, and David Frasch of

Chanhassen Chanhassen ( ) is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, United States about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Minneapolis. The population was 25,947 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate of 26,469. A small portion of the city extends into Hen ...

and

Fairmont, Minnesota Fairmont is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Minnesota, Martin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 10,487 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Fairmont was platted in 1857. The city was so name ...

. The Frasch family has owned ranching property in

, for more than 25 years.

Awards and honors

On September 13, 2003, Lee Perkins was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters. Citing his "significant and lasting contribution to Oregon broadcasting", the OAB presented the award to the man known as the "Voice of Wallowa County" at their annual conference in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Lee and Carol-Lee Perkins were chosen to preside as Grand Marshals of the 59th Annual Chief Joseph Days celebration in July 2004. The annual event is held in

Joseph, Oregon Joseph is a city in Wallowa County, Oregon, United States. Originally named Silver Lake and Lake City, the city formally named itself in 1880 for Chief Joseph (1840–1904) of the Nez Perce people. The population was 1,081 at the 2010 census. ...

References

External links

FCC History Cards for KWVROfficial website
* {{News/Talk Radio Stations in Oregon WVR News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1960 Enterprise, Oregon 1960 establishments in Oregon