KSVY (Washington)

KDNC went on air September 1, 1962.[1] The station broadcast during the day at 1440 kHz and was owned by the Independent Broadcasting Corporation, with transmitter at Havana and 44th in Spokane; it aired a "golden music" format.[2] After two years in operation, KDNC moved its studios to the Davenport Hotel.[3] KDNC also spawned KDNC-FM 93.7, which signed on September 30, 1965.[4] Alexander P. Hunter of Spokane acquired KDNC-AM-FM in 1967[5] and sold it two years later to Radford Sorensen, Wayne Wakefield and Edward Kelley for US$158,813 (equivalent to $1,267,334 in 2022).[6]

KDNC became KXXR on April 15, 1974.[7] The AM station was playing country music in 1979,[8] beautiful music in 1980[9] and the Music of Your Life format in 1981.[10] The station also broadcast some sporting events; after initially agreeing to carry University of Idaho football for the 1983 season, it abruptly dropped the Vandals after one game to carry University of Notre Dame football instead.[11]

KXXR changed frequency from 1440 to 1550 kHz in January 1984 as part of a major facility change that saw the city of license change from Spokane to Opportunity, as well as a daytime power increase to 10,000 watts and the beginning of nighttime service with 2,500 watts from a new tower site. The new tower site had been approved in 1981, even though local residents feared that the construction of a radio facility close to a school would cause issues with construction crews, as had happened with KGA at another school site.[12]

Harold Orr, who had been the station's president in 1975,[4] acquired the station in 1983 after being a former creditor.[13] Orr, whose primary business ventures were 115 H&R Block tax offices in Oregon and Washington and a leasing company,[13] took the money-losing station off the air in October 1985[14]—after a six-month stint with pop music—but he retained the license.[15] When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) told him he had to keep the station on the air 72 hours a week to keep the license active, he responded by bringing in former general manager Dick Wright to put together a team of young announcers to run the station 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, beginning in September 1987.[15] The new KSVY did not play commercials, clinging instead to a mix of big band music and oldies, all while remaining up for sale.[15] In 1990,[16] the format shifted to classical music, interrupted by sports broadcasts (including the return of Idaho football) which subsidized the remainder of the operation.[13]