KNZZ

KNZZ (1100 AM) is a radio station licensed to Grand Junction, Colorado, and serves the Grand Junction area. The station is owned by MBC Grand Broadcasting, Inc.[2] It is an affiliate of the BYU Cougars Sports Network.

KNZZ's broadcast towers outside of Grand Junction

KNZZ
Broadcast areaGrand Junction, Aspen
Frequency1100 kHz
BrandingNewsradio 1100
Programming
FormatNews–talk
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerMBC Grand Broadcasting, Inc.
History
First air date
May 1, 1926 (1926-05-01) (in Edgewater, moved to Grand Junction on January 31, 1931)
Former call signs
  • KFXJ (1925–1956)
  • KREX (1956–1984)
  • KVEE (1984–1989)
  • KJYE (1989–1990)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID39465
ClassB
Power
Transmitter coordinates
38°57′6″N 108°25′10″W
Translator(s)92.7 K224FE (Grand Junction)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Website1100knzz.com

History

KNZZ was first licensed on September 16, 1925,[3] as a portable broadcasting station, with the sequentially assigned call letters of KFXJ, to Mountain States Radio Distributors, Inc. in Denver.[4][5] However, Mountain States' 26-year-old president, Elden F. Horn, was electrocuted the next month while working on the installation of radio station KFBU at St. Matthew's cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming for the University of Wyoming.[6][7] In 1926, as part of the settlement of Horn's estate, KFXJ's license and equipment were transferred to R. G. "Rex" Howell, a recent high school graduate from Denver and early employee of one of that city's first radio stations, KFEL.[8]

Howell ran the station himself—including the advertising. He originally intended to base the station in Denver. However, under the regulations of the day, since the equipment had been licensed for portable use, KFXJ could not operate in any city with a fully licensed radio station. To solve the problem, Howell built his studios at a house in Edgewater, just two blocks from the Denver city limits.[6] KFXJ first broadcast from Edgewater on May 1, 1926, and this has traditionally been recognized as the station's founding date.[9][8] For all intents and purposes, though, it was a Denver station, and quickly established itself as one of the city's leading stations.[8] In September 1926, Howell had the station's status changed from "portable" to a permanent location of "Edgewater (near)".[10][11]

KFXJ developed such a strong reputation that it was widely expected to garner the CBS Radio Network affiliation for Denver. When it lost out to KLZ, Howell decided to move the station to Grand Junction, which didn't have any radio stations at the time. KFXJ signed on from Grand Junction on January 31, 1931, from an Art Deco and block glass building on Hillcrest Manor.[8]

Howell added a television station in 1954, KFXJ-TV. However, searching for a more distinctive callsign, in 1956 he changed the call letters to KREX-AM-TV—after his first name. He added KREX-FM in 1960. He sold the stations to a Cincinnati group in 1966, but reclaimed control after several missed payments in 1969. Howell died in 1978, and his estate broke up his empire in 1984, earning a handsome return on Howell's original investment of 58 years prior.[8] The television station still has the KREX-TV calls, and still operates out of the building Howell originally built for its former radio sister.

The AM station changed its calls to KVEE after the sale.[8] On November 15, 1989, the station changed its call sign to KJYE and on April 30, 1990, to the current KNZZ.[12]

References
  1. "Facility Technical Data for KNZZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "KNZZ Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. "Date First Licensed", FCC History Cards for KNZZ.
  4. "Portable Radio is Granted Permit", Denver Post, September 18, 1925, page 13.
  5. "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, October 1, 1925, page 3.
  6. "Our Respects To — Rex George Howell", Broadcasting. January 14, 1946, pages 50, 52.
  7. "Horn Funeral Services to be Held Monday", Denver Post, October 31, 1925, page 13.
  8. "The KREX Story: A History of Broadcasting in the Grand Valley" by Kenneth L. Schweitert, Journal of the Western Slope, Spring 1991, pages 19-31.
  9. "25th Birthday Celebrated at Station KFXJ", The Palisade (Colorado) Tribune, May 18, 1951, page 14.
  10. "Decrease in Radio Stations Licensed", Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, September 5, 1926, page 14.
  11. "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, September 30, 1926, page 8.
  12. "Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
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