KXLO (1230 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 ...

broadcasting 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 in

Lewistown, Montana Lewistown is a city in and the county seat of Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,952 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lewistown is located in the geographic center of the state, southeast of Great Falls, Mo ...

, United States. The station is currently owned by KXLO Broadcast, Inc. Radio host

Rick Rydell Rick Rydell (born Richard Green, September 29, 1963) is an American talk radio host, outdoorsman, writer and author. Rydell enjoyed a long career in radio, most prominently with various stations in the Northwest. His last job in radio was as the ...

started his radio career at KXLO.

History

The Capital Broadcasting Company applied for a

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 ...

and were granted authority on April 3, 1946, to build a new 250-watt radio station on a frequency of 1230 kHz. KXLO was the creation of brothers George and Russell Bennitt, owners of the ''Lewistown Democrat-News'' and ''Argus-Farmer'' newspapers. The Bennitts sold their newspaper interests to Ken Byerly in 1947 but retained the radio construction permit. KXLO started broadcasting on June 24, 1947. Its staff consisted entirely of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veterans. The power was increased from 250 to 1,000 watts during the day in March 1962. The ownership of the station has changed several times over the years. In 1949, the Bennitts sold the station to William G. Kelly and Victor J. Morgan doing business as the Montana Broadcasting Company; Kelly became the sole owner in 1950. Three years later, Marlin G. Obie of North Dakota joined Kelly, eventually incorporating as Central Montana Broadcasting Company. KXLO was sold in 1958 to Asger Mikkelsen. Obie, along with Leroy Tappe and David L. Sather, purchased the station in 1959, changing its corporate name to KXLO Broadcast, Inc. Obie and Tappe sold their interests in 1960 to Sather, William Yaeger and Lewis G. Boucher. Fred Lark of

Boone, Iowa Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Boone ...

, purchased controlling interest in KXLO in a deal agreed in 1972 and approved in 1973. Two years later, KXLO expanded to FM broadcasting with the establishment of KLCM, which had studios in the basement of the KXLO building. Lark, also a pilot, was known to fly to the scene of news stories and kept the stations intensely local, with an eclectic music playlist and local news and sports coverage. In October 2005, KXLO began to broadcast 24 hours a day. In 2011, an FM translator was added atop the Moccasin Mountains, giving KXLO an FM signal on 106.9 MHz.

References

External links

* * {{Country Radio Stations in Montana XLO Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Montana