KGYM

KGYM (1600 AM) is a radio station broadcasting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The station is owned by KZIA, Inc., which also owns KZIA (102.9 FM). It is Cedar Rapids' second-oldest radio station, after WMT.[2]

KGYM
Broadcast areaCedar Rapids, Iowa
Frequency1600 kHz
Branding1600 ESPN
Programming
FormatSports
AffiliationsESPN Radio
Ownership
OwnerKZIA, Inc.
KZIA
History
First air date
December 20, 1947 (1947-12-20) (as KCRG)
Former call signs
KCRG (1947-1953, 1954-2006)
KCRI (1953-1954)
Call sign meaning
Sports are commonly played in a gym
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID9718
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
41°58′15″N 91°32′01″W
Translator(s)See § Translators
Repeater(s)102.9 KZIA-HD3 (Cedar Rapids)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitekgymradio.com

KGYM does not broadcast a digital HD signal on its AM frequency of 1600 kHz, but it can be heard in HD on KZIA-HD3.[3]

History

KGYM signed on as KCRG on December 20, 1947, under the ownership of the Cedar Rapids Gazette Company[4] (later known as Gazette Communications). The Gazette Company had launched Cedar Rapids' first FM station, KCRK-FM 96.1, a month earlier and had applied for a construction permit for a television station on channel 9 that year. (KCRK-FM signed off in 1954 as FM radio was still in its infancy and the station proved to be unprofitable.) In 1953, the Gazette Company consolidated its interests with the Cedar Rapids Television Company, another group interested in the channel 9 license, and in October 1953 the call letters of the radio and television stations were changed to KCRI. After the Gazette Company bought out the Cedar Rapids Television Company's stock on August 27, 1954, the KCRG call letters were restored to both the AM and TV stations.[5]

KCRG was formerly an adult contemporary station until 1984 when it switched its format into a big band/adult standards format. The station returned back to adult contemporary in January 1987, but flipped to oldies two years later in 1989. During the early 1990s, KCRG was a country music station, and it later adopted a news/talk format. By 2000 the station had moved to its current sports talk format but continued to simulcast KCRG-TV's newscasts and ABC's World News Tonight for radio listeners. KCRG radio adopted the nickname "The Zone" in 2003.

On July 10, 2006, Gazette Communications announced that KCRG was being sold to owners of another local broadcaster, KZIA FM 102.9, subject to FCC approval. The sale was finalized on October 31, 2006, and the call letters were changed to KGYM as a result of the sale.[6] After the acquisition, KGYM ended its simulcasting of KCRG-TV's newscasts, and KGYM's studios moved from downtown Cedar Rapids to KZIA's studios on the city's southwest side.[7]

Logo as The Gym

Programming

KGYM currently broadcasts ESPN Radio programming along with Iowa State University sports, college basketball and the NFL from Westwood One, the IndyCar Series, Minnesota Twins baseball on 107.5 FM and area high school football and basketball games. It also carried Cedar Rapids Kernels games before sharing rights with KMRY, another Cedar Rapids radio station, during the 2006 season. Kernels games moved exclusively to KMRY starting in 2007.[8]

Local talk shows include The Gym Class hosted by KGYM sports director Scott Unash and former Cedar Rapids Gazette sports editor Mark Dukes, and The Todd Brommelkamp Show hosted by Voice of the Hawkeyes magazine editor Todd Brommelkamp. "Spencer on Sports" was added in early 2022, hosted by Spencer Wagen.

Translators
Call sign Frequency
(MHz)		 City of license Facility ID Rebroadcasts
K272GB102.3Cedar Rapids, Iowa202139 KGYM
K292FZ106.3Iowa City, Iowa153604 KZIA-HD3

References
  1. "Facility Technical Data for KGYM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. Stein, Jeff (2004). Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications. ISBN 0-9718323-1-5.
  3. "Station Search Details".
  4. "KCRG, Cedar Rapids AM Outlet, Launched" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 5, 1948. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  5. Danek, Ernie (1980). Cedar Rapids: Tall Corn and High Technology. Woodland Hills, CA: Windsor Publications. pp. 140–141. ISBN 0-89781-021-X.
  6. "Media: KZIA Completes Purchase, Renames Station KGYM-AM". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids). 2006-11-01. p. 8B.
  7. Kenyon, John (2006-12-18). "Changing the station". Corridor Business Journal.
  8. "Area News Notes: C.R. Kernels Games Exclusively on KMRY-AM". The Gazette (Cedar Rapids). 2006-11-15. p. 2C.


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