KVNU

KVNU (610 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Logan, Utah. It is owned by the Cache Valley Media Group and airs a talk radio format, serving the Logan metropolitan area. KVNU first signed on in 1938 and was owned by the family of Herschel Bullen until 1996. The studios and offices are at 810 West 200 North in Logan.

KVNU
Broadcast areaLogan metropolitan area
Frequency610 kHz
BrandingNews Talk KVNU
Programming
FormatTalk radio
NetworkABC News Radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Cache Valley Media Group
  • (Sun Valley Radio, Inc.)
KBLQ-FM, KKEX, KGNT, KLGN, KLZX, KVFX
History
First air date
November 20, 1938 (1938-11-20)
Call sign meaning
"Voice of Northern Utah"
Technical information
Facility ID55459
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts day
  • 1,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
41°40′30″N 111°56′6″W
Translator(s)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitekvnutalk.com

By day, KVNU is powered at 10,000 watts non-directional. At night, to protect other stations on 610 AM from interference, it reduces power to 1,000 watts and switches to a directional antenna. KVNU has a construction permit to boost its daytime power to 22,000 watts. The AM transmitter is off West 3800 South in Benson, Utah, near the Little Bear River.[1] Programming is also heard on FM translators at 102.1 MHz in Wellsville, 102.5 MHz in Smithfield, 98.3 in Tremonton, Utah and 93.5 in Laketown, Utah.

History

KVNU signed on the air on November 20, 1938. It was owned by the Cache Valley Broadcasting Company, led by S.L. Billings and other Salt Lake City entrepreneurs.[2] Shortly afterwards, Herschel Bullen and his son Reed became stockholders of KVNU's parent company. The station originally broadcast at 1200 kHz at 250 watts, a fraction of its current output.[3] The studios were at 41 South Main Street. With the enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in 1941, the frequency moved to 1230 AM.[4]

By 1945, the Bullens had become majority owners of the Cache Valley Broadcasting Company, with Herschel leading the company and Reed moving up from station general manager to company general manager to company director.[2] Reed hosted Man on the Street, a daily 12:15 p.m. live broadcast from a local jewelry business soliciting opinions from members of the public.[5]

In the 1950s, KVNU moved its frequency to 610 AM and boosted its power to 5,000 watts, expanding its coverage area around Northern Utah and parts of Wyoming and Idaho. In 1958, the Bullen Family was granted a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to put a television station on Channel 12 in Logan.[6] The permit was later transferred to the University of Utah to put a public television station on Channel 12.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, KVNU was a Top 40 station and an affiliate of the ABC Contemporary Network. In the 1970s, the daytime power was doubled to 10,000 watts.

In 1986, Reed Bullen retired as KVNU director and transferred the station to his son Jonathan. Then in 1996, the Bullen family sold KVNU to the Cache Valley Media Group.[2]

Programming

Talk shows

KVNU is branded as "The Voice of Northern Utah".[7] It has local talk shows on weekday morning (6 to 10 a.m.) and afternoon (4 to 6 p.m.) drive time slots. The rest of the weekday schedule consists of nationally syndicated programming, including Premiere Networks' The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show, The Ramsey Show, and Coast to Coast AM.[8]

Weekends feature syndicated talk shows and brokered specialty lifestyle shows about topics such as gardening and finance. Syndicated weekend shows include Handel on the Law, At Home with Gary Sullivan, and The Kim Komando Show. Updates from ABC News Radio air each hour, in addition to the weekly newsmagazine Perspective.[8]

Sports

As early as 1948, KVNU broadcast Utah Agricultural College (later Utah State University) football games.[9] KVNU continued broadcasting Utah State football and eventually men's basketball through the 2016–17 season. In May 2017, Utah State discontinued its partnership with KVNU and changed its flagship station to KZNS in Salt Lake City.[10] However, KVNU returned to the Utah State sports network in July 2023.[11]

KVNU has also broadcast Logan High School football since the 1940s.[9]

Translators

In addition to the main station, KVNU is relayed by two FM translators to widen its coverage area.

Call signFrequencyCity of licenseERP (W)ClassFCC info
K271BI 102.1 FMWellsville, Utah210DFMQ
K273CY 102.5 FMSmithfield, Utah84DFMQ

Notes
  1. Radio-Locator.com/KVNU
  2. "The Broadcasting Bullens: One Family's Contribution to Cache Valley Newspaper, Radio, and Television: KVNU". Utah State University. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  3. Broadcasting Yearbook 1940 page 160, Broadcasting & Cable
  4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1942 page 184
  5. "Bullen Family Papers, 1893-1992". archives West. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  6. "TV Firm Asks Channel Okeh". Associated Press. December 22, 1958. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  7. "KVNU Audio Recordings". Utah State University. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  8. "On-Air Schedule". KVNU. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  9. "KVNU Audio Recordings: Sporting Events". Utah State University. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  10. Harrison, Shawn (May 19, 2017). "Aggie sports change flagship radio station". The Herald Journal. Logan, Utah. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  11. "Utah State Athletics Announces Expansion of Radio Broadcast Coverage". Utah State University. July 19, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
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