CIRK-FM (97.3 FM, ''K-97'') is a radio station in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Owned by

Stingray Group Stingray Group Inc. (formerly Stingray Digital and Stingray Digital Group) is a Canadian music, media and technology company based in Montreal, Quebec, with offices in Toronto, Ontario, as well as in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, ...

, it broadcasts a

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. CIRK's studios are located inside the

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Met ...

, alongside its metropolitan sister stations CFCW,

CKRA-FM CKRA-FM (96.3 FM, ''96.3 The Breeze'') is a radio station in Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by Stingray Radio, it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary format. The station also airs Christmas music starting on the day after Remembrance Day to Boxing Da ...

, and

CKJR CKJR (1440 AM, "Sports 1440") is a radio station licensed to Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Owned by Stingray Radio, it broadcasts a sports talk format primarily serving the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. CKJR's studios are located alongside its metropolit ...

, while its transmitter is located at Ellerslie Road and Provincial Highway 21, just southeast of the Edmonton city limits. As of February 28, 2021, CIRK is the 6th-most-listened-to radio station in the Edmonton market according to a PPM data report released by

Numeris Numeris (formerly the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, or BBM Canada) is a Canadian audience measurement organization. Established on May 11, 1944 as a division of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, Numeris is the sole provider of viewership ...

History

CIRK signed on the air on August 23, 1949 as CJCA-FM, originally located at 99.5 MHz as an FM simulcast of

CJCA CJCA is a Canadian radio station. It operates at 930 AM branded as ''AM930 The Light'' in Edmonton, Alberta. It is Alberta’s first radio station, established by the ''Edmonton Journal'' in May 1922. History It was first licensed in 1922, an ...

. It later began programming separately from CJCA between 5:50 p.m. and midnight on Monday to Friday, 5:50 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and 5:00 p.m. to midnight on Sunday. The station switched to its current frequency and call sign in 1975 and became known on-air in 1979 as ''K-97'', becoming an Edmonton favourite during the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, CIRK was broadcast crystal clear throughout North America as a secondary audio frequency on channel 18 of Canadian satellite Anik D. For many years, mornings were hosted by Bruce Kenyon. The station has a reputation of keeping long term talented announcers. Rob Berg since the early 1980s and Melissa Wright mid 1990s. In 1997, the station was rebranded as ''K-Rock 97.3''. In 1998, CIRK was purchased by Newcap Broadcasting, who already owned

and CFCW in the city. Through much of the next five years the station regained its success, however in the early part of 2007, the station has struggled in the ratings, with public firings of new and long time staff members. CIRK had rebounded to be the 5th most listened to radio station in Edmonton. As of July 7, 2008, the station returned to the old ''K-97'' branding. On February 10, 2009 the station announced that the morning team of Terry, Bill, and Steve would be returning after almost three years off the air. The Terry, Bill, and Steve Show dominated Edmonton ratings from 2000-2005. The show returned on February 23, 2009. The current morning show is hosted by Terry Evans and Pete Potipcoe. Since 2022, the station has temporarily rebranded as "Konnor 97" (in honor of

Connor McDavid Connor Andrew McDavid (born January 13, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected first overall by the Oilers ...

) during the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...

if the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

are playing.

Rebroadcasters

CIRK-FM also operates on a number of low-power FM transmitters.

Alberta

*VF2214 106.3 FM - Luscar CIRK was a rebroadcaster in

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

with local tourist information and has changed to its current call letters

CJAG-FM CJAG-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts an active rock format at 92.3 FM in Jasper, Alberta. The station is branded as "The Lone Wolf" and airs a rock format largely simulcast from CFBR-FM in Edmonton Edmonton is the capital cit ...

British Columbia

*VF2053 102.5 FM -

Logan Lake Logan Lake is a district municipality in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. History It was founded in the 1960s and 1970s to support copper, molybdenum and other mineral mining operations located south of the town. The Villag ...

*VF2103 103.9 FM - Fort St. James *VF2204 95.5 FM -

Kemano Kemano was a settlement situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia in Canada. It was built to service a hydroelectric power station, built to provide energy for Alcan to smelt aluminum from its or ...

*VF2475 94.1 FM -

Fraser Lake Fraser Lake is a village in northern British Columbia, Canada. It's located on the southwest side of Fraser Lake between Burns Lake and Vanderhoof alongside the Yellowhead Highway. The small community's population is primarily employed by eithe ...

Northwest Territories

*CKXY-FM 92.3 FM - Fort Smith (Left the air in 2018)

Saskatchewan

*VF2001 92.9 FM -

La Ronge La Ronge is a List of municipalities in Saskatchewan, northern town in the boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is also the namesake of the larger #Population centre, La Ronge population centre, the largest ...

Former logo

References

External links

K-97

CIRK-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cirk-Fm Irk Irk Irk Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Alberta