KZSN (102.1 FM, "102.1 The Bull") 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. Licensed to

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, the station serves the Wichita area. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are located on East Douglas Avenue in Downtown Wichita, and the transmitter is located outside

Colwich, Kansas Colwich is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, located northwest of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,455. History Colwich was founded in 1887. The name is a portmanteau of Colorado and Wichita, ...

History

The station began in Hutchinson in 1969 as KSKU and played a Beautiful Music format. It was owned by Margurite Sours and managed by Sam Kahalewai. The station also aired live area high school football and basketball games with Kansas sportscasting legend and

Kansas Association of Broadcasters The Kansas Association of Broadcasters is a group supporting broadcasters in Kansas, United States, primarily through lobbying and coordination. History The Kansas Association of Broadcasters began in 1951 as the Kansas Association of Radio Bro ...

Hall of Fame member Hod Humiston providing the play-by-play. The syndicated "

Hawaii Calls ''Hawaii Calls'' was a radio program broadcast live from Waikiki Beach from 1935 through 1975 that reached 750 stations world-wide at the height of its popularity. It featured live Hawaiian music by an 11-piece dance orchestra conducted by Ha ...

" program of Hawaiian music was also aired. In 1973, KSKU became one of a very few radio stations in America that broadcast in

Quadrophonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio formed by analogy with "stereo"">portmanteau.html" ;"title="/nowiki>portmanteau">formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 su ...

stereo (four-channel sound). In 1976, the station switched to a Rock 40 format, later onto a

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

direction. In 1983–84, KSKU upgraded its signal for better coverage over Wichita to compete against then Top 40 stations

KEYN KEYN-FM (103.7 MHz) is a radio station operating in Wichita, Kansas, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station broadcasts a classic hits music format, featuring hits from the 1970s and 1980s. The station's studios are located on East Douglas Avenue in ...

(Now

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 ...

) and KKRD (now

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 ...

KTHR KTHR (107.3 FM, "ALT 107.3") is a radio station operating in Wichita, Kansas. The station airs an alternative rock format. Its studios are located on East Douglas Avenue in Downtown Wichita, and the transmitter is located outside Colwich, Ka ...

) in three-way Top-40 battle. In the late 1970s, the station was sold to Jack Sampson and Sampson Communications. In early 1986, the station's studios were moved to Wichita, and on February 14, 1986, at 3 p.m., the station's call letters were changed to KZSN and flipped to a

format as "Kissin' 102" to compete with longtime Wichita ratings leader KFDI AM/FM. The final song on "KSKU" was " American Pie" by

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

, while the first song on "Kissin' 102" was " Sweet Country Music" by

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In the mid-2000s, the station rebranded slightly to "Kissin' Country 102.1". On February 8, 2013, at Noon, KZSN rebranded as "102.1 The Bull". The final two songs on "Kissin' Country" were "

How Country Feels ''How Country Feels'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Randy Houser. It was released on January 22, 2013, through Broken Bow Records, Stoney Creek Records. Houser wrote seven of the album's fifteen tracks. The album was ...

" by

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Houser has racked up over half a dozen hits and over 1 billion streams. His How Country Feels album topped the country radio charts with the title ...

and "

These Days These Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''These Days'' (Bon Jovi album), and the title song (see below) ** These Days Tour, a 1995–1996 tour by Bon Jovi in support of the above album * ''These Days'' (Crystal Gayle album), 1980 * ''These ...

" by

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

, while the first three songs on "The Bull" were "

Anywhere with You "Anywhere with You" is a song recorded by American country music artist Jake Owen. It was released in February 2013 as the fourth single from his third studio album, ''Barefoot Blue Jean Night''. The song was written by Ben Hayslip, David Lee Mur ...

" by

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This album produced three ...

, " Even If It Breaks Your Heart" by

Eli Young Band Eli Young Band is an American country music band from Denton, Texas. The band consists of Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drums). They released their self-titled debut album in 2 ...

and " Pirate Flag" by

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

. The station is home to "The Bobby Bones Show" from 5-10am, Jim Dorman 10–3, and Michelle Buckles from 3-7pm.

References

External links

* {{IHeartMedia ZSN Radio stations established in 1969 1969 establishments in Kansas Country radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations