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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 1540kHz |
| Branding | KXEL News/Talk 1540 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | July 14, 1942 (1942-07-14) |
Call sign meaning | "Excel" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 35950 |
| Class | A |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
| Translator | 100.5 K263BZ (Waterloo) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
KXEL (1540AM), branded as News/Talk 1540, is a commercialradio station serving theWaterloo andCedar Rapids metropolitan areas with atalk format. It is owned byNRG Media with studios and offices on Jefferson Street in Waterloo nearU.S. Route 218 (Leo P. Rooff Expressway).[2] Programming is also heard onFM translator K263BZ at 100.5MHz.
KXEL is one of twoClass A stations in Iowa, along withWHO inDes Moines, broadcasting at the maximum power, 50,000 watts. By day, KXEL has a non-directional signal. But at night, to protect other stations on 1540 AM from interference, it uses a two-tower array. The transmitter is nearDysart on theBenton/Tama County line.[3] KXEL provides secondary coverage to most of eastern Iowa during the day (as far west as Des Moines, as far south asOttumwa and as far east asDubuque and as far north asMason City).ZNS-1 1540 inNassau, Bahamas, shares Class A status with KXEL, so KXEL's nighttime pattern is a cardioid-shaped pattern aimed north. With a good radio, KXEL'sskywave signal can be heard after dark throughout much of theNorthern Plains States and theCanadian Prairies.
KXEL signed on the air on July 14, 1942, the first radio station in Waterloo. It was owned by the Josh Higgins Broadcasting Company with its studios in the Waterloo Insurance Building.[4] It was an affiliate of theNBC Blue Network, carrying its news, sports, dramas and comedies during the "Golden Age of Radio." (The Blue Network later becameABC Radio.)
In the early days of broadcasting, most stations went on the air with low power, gradually boosting the wattage by applying for increases to theFederal Communications Commission (FCC). But KXEL was granted 50,000 watts in its early days, in an effort to give a good radio signal to remote sections of Iowa and adjacent states.
On November 16, 1947, KXEL added a sister station, KXEL-FM. It began broadcasting on 105.7 MHz. It was licensed to the Josh Higgins Broadcasting Company, which also held the license for KXEL.[5] It mostly simulcast the same programming as 1540 AM. But few people owned FM receivers in that era and management saw little opportunity to make the station profitable. KXEL-FM was take off the air in the 1950s. KXEL tried FM radio again in 1962 and that station today isKOKZ with aclassic hits format.
In the early 1950s, KXEL filed for a television license in Waterloo, seeking to go on the air on channel 7. However, Waterloo's other powerhouse radio station, KWWL (nowKPTY) wanted the license as well. KXEL and KWWL went to court and battled it out. KXEL was so sure it would win that it built a new studio large enough to accommodate a television station. This studio was mainly useless because KWWL won the lawsuit and signed onKWWL-TV on November 29, 1953.[6] Interestingly, KXEL and KPTY today are co-owned.
On November 9, 1958, the station was acquired byCy N. Bahakel, who served as the general manager.[7] As network programming moved from radio to television, KXEL began afull service radio format of news, sports andcountry music. It carried world and national news from ABC Radio, eventually becoming an affiliate of theABC Information Network.
As FM radio became the preferred band for country music fans, KXEL switched its format. It began airingadult standards, mostly pop hits of the 1940s and 50s from ABC's "Stardust" satellite network. It later used the "Timeless" network until it ceased operations in 2010. KXEL also featuredclassic country programming before switching to its current news/talk format.
Woodward Broadcasting owned the station between 2011 and December 2014 before selling KXEL and its sister stations. Woodward sold to the current owner,NRG Media LLC, based in Cedar Rapids.
Weekdays on KXEL begin with theKXEL Morning News with Tim Harwood, followed by a local talk and interview program hosted by Jeff Stein. The rest of the schedule is nationally syndicatedconservative talk shows.[8]
42°10′48″N92°18′38″W / 42.18000°N 92.31056°W /42.18000; -92.31056