| Broadcast area | Kansas City metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1190kHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Roman Catholicreligious broadcasting |
| Affiliations | EWTN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | September 1, 1971; 54 years ago (1971-09-01) |
Former call signs |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 4373 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
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Transmitter coordinates | 39°3′49″N94°30′37″W / 39.06361°N 94.51028°W /39.06361; -94.51028 |
| Translators | 95.3 K237GQ (Kansas City, Kansas) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | thecatholicradionetwork.com |
KDMR (1190AM) is a radio station licensed toKansas City, Missouri, serving theKansas City metropolitan area. The station is owned by the Catholic Radio Network, Inc.[2] It airs aRoman Catholicreligiousradio format. KDMR airs both local shows and national programming fromEWTN Radio.
KDMR operates with 5000 watts by day. BecauseAM 1190 is aclear-channel frequency reserved forClass A stationsKEX inPortland, Oregon, KDMR must reduce power at night to 500 watts to avoid interference. Programming issimulcast onFMtranslator station K237GQ inKansas City, Kansas, at 95.3MHz.[3]
On September 1, 1971, the station went on the air as KAYQ.[4] It used the slogan "Fresh Air for Kansas City", and aired amiddle of the road and news format, competing with ratings leaderKMBZ 980. The format later changed tocountry music for several years.
On December 20, 1978, the station changed itscall sign to KJLA under Owner/general manager Wilton "Chip" Osborn, and played 24-hourdisco hits until that music phenomenon faded in 1980. Even the newscasts had a disco beat in the background. In the fall of 1981, KJLA switched to "The Music of Your Life", asyndicatedadult standards format, and dropped all local newscasts. Yet several months later, the station received a nationalAssociated Press award for its coverage of the deadlyHyatt Regency walkway collapse.
On October 12, 1992, the station's call sign were changed to KFEZ, to reflect the "easy" sound of the station as a Music of Your Lifenetwork affiliate. On March 3, 1997, the format switched to Business News and the call sign were changed again to KPHN.[5] During this time, the station carried the syndicatedImus in the Morning.
On July 19, 2002, at 2 pm,Radio Disney made its debut in Kansas City, with the first song being "Complicated" byAvril Lavigne. In June 2013, Disney put KPHN and six other Radio Disney stations in medium-sizedmarkets up for sale, to refocus the network's broadcast distribution in the top 25 markets.[6]
On July 31, 2013, KPHN dropped the Radio Disney affiliation and wentsilent.[7] In April, Disney filed to sell KPHN to the Catholic Radio Network (a Missouri non-profit Corporation), owner ofKEXS.[8] The sale was consummated on July 25,[9] at a purchase price of $700,000, and accepted by the FCC on July 28. After almost one year, KPHN resumed operations on July 25.[10]
On December 11, 2016, which is the vigil of thefeast day forOur Lady of Guadalupe, thepatron saint of Mexico, the station switched to a Spanish-language Catholic radio format.[11] It has since returned to English-language Catholic programming, although sometimes different thansister stations 1090KEXS and 890KMVG, which also serve Kansas City as Catholic radio stations.