KISO (96.1MHz, "96.1KISS-FM") is aTop 40 (CHR)radio station inOmaha, Nebraska, owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are near North 50th Street and Underwood Avenue inMidtown Omaha. In AMdrive time, it carriesElvis Duran and the Morning Show from co-ownedWHTZNew York.^[2]

KISO has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 82,000watts. Thetransmittertower is at North 72nd Street and Crown Point at the Omaha master antenna farm.^[3] KISO is licensed by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast usingHD Radio technology.^[4] The HD2subchannel carries amainstream rockformat, known as "Rock 94.9." It feedsFM translator K235CD at 94.9 MHz.

The 96.1 FM frequencysigned on the air in September 1976. It originally broadcast fromCouncil Bluffs, Iowa. The change in itscity of license was made after a station known asKFAM had gone dark. (This was probably KFMX Council Bluffs which switched off in 1952. OmahaRadioHistory.com) In 1959, a station known asKCOM surfaced at 96.1 when a couple of hobbyists used the frequency to broadcastclassical music, with an Omaha broadcast license. Their studios were in the Rorick Apartments with a tower on top of the building, where it remained through the Burden years until toppled in a 1980 storm.

During the Burden years,KICN was the FMsister station toKOIL 1290 AM. Although a simulcast with KOIL, the KICN call letters were being preserved from Burden's Denver property on 710 that didn't succeed and was sold off. During this time, 1290 KOIL was a very popularTop 40 station, with 96.1 used as an FM simulcast.

In 1967, the FM station began using thecall signKOIL-FM. At the time, the FCC was encouraging AM-FM simulcasts to offer different programming. KOIL-FM became abeautiful music station. It was anautomated operation, playing quarter-hour sweeps of soft, instrumental music. In 1974 that it switched its call letters toKEFM.

In 1976, the Burden stations were shut down by the FCC due to violations. But KEFM returned to broadcasting in December of that same year with the same beautiful music format.

Then in December 1978, the easy listening sounds ended. KEFM switched to "New Country". By 1980, KEFM was positioning itself as "96-One". That same year, KEFM's tower fell to the ground due to a storm.

On October 21, 1983, KEFM went back on the air, which began 20 years under the ownership of the Webster family. Instead of country music, it returned with anadult contemporary format as "Lite 96."^[5][6]

A slight repositioning of "Lite 96" was made in the late 1990s, when the station became "Mix 96.1". Owner John Webster decided to get out of the radio business almost 20 years to the date of KEFM's resurrection. The station was sold toSan Antonio-basedClear Channel Communications, a forerunner to today's iHeartMedia. Webster left with $10 million. Clear Channel obtained Omaha's last locally owned, stand-alone commercial FM station.^[7]

Clear Channel's attempts to rebuild the slow erosion of KEFM's AC ratings failed, so it was time for a change. At 5 a.m. on September 22, 2005, an "All Christmas" format was launched as a stunt. (KEFM had done a Christmas music format prior to Thanksgiving in 2004.)^[8]

The next afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., KEFM flipped toclassic rock as "The Brew" using the call signKQBW. The music centered mostly on1980s rock, with core artists includingAerosmith,Bon Jovi,Van Halen andAC/DC, while flavoring the format with 1970s bands such asBoston andLynyrd Skynyrd and 1990s music from acts likeStone Temple Pilots andPearl Jam. It also featured a good helping of 1980s pop-rock, such asJohn Cougar Mellencamp,Bryan Adams, andPat Benatar. KQBW was one of five radio stations that used "The Brew" branding, alongside sister stations inOklahoma City,New Orleans,Columbus andPortland, Oregon. It was the second outlet to use the brand afterWQBW inMilwaukee.

KQBW debuted its on-air lineup on October 4, 2005. It initially consisted ofThe Morning Brew with Mookie & Michelle (5:30-10am), "Crash" Davis (10am-3pm), "Steve-O" (3–7 pm) and Lucy Chapman (7–11 pm). The Brew later rounded out its airstaff with weekenders Marty Simpson and "Bam-Bam". On-air features of "The Brew" included "6-Packs of Brew Music", "The 90s At Noon" and "The Friday Free-For-All".

In January 2007, the Brew shuffled its lineup, moving Steve-O to middays, Crash Davis to evenings, and adding afternoon driver Ethan Stone and weekend talent Lester St. James, formerly of the Brew's rival, Z-92. St. James departed the station in the summer of 2007. Also in January 2007, the station changed its positioning statement from "Everything Rock, the 80s and More" to "The Biggest Variety of Rock Hits", as the focus shifted toward a more expanded playlist of 1990s and even early 2000s music, like Three Doors Down and Creed.

In February 2008, the Brew changed its on-air staff again, shifting Ethan Stone to mornings (joining Michelle as "The New Morning Brew"), moving Mookie to middays, and Crash Davis to afternoons.

On September 2, 2012, at 6:20 p.m., KQBW changed its format toTop 40 (CHR) as "96-1 KISS FM".^[9] Simultaneously, the "Brew" name and format moved to the station's HD2 subchannel. A number of other iHeart Top 40 CHR stations use the KISS-FM brand, includingKIIS-FMLos Angeles,KHKSDallas andWXKS-FMBoston.

On September 12, 2012, KQBW changed call letters toKISO to match the "KISS FM" moniker. On November 11, 2014, the HD2 subchannel was re-launched as "Christmas 94.9". On December 26, 2014, at Midnight, after playing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" byBrenda Lee, the HD2 signal, simulcast on translators 94.9 K235CD and 102.3 K272FE (as well as the latter frequency being simulcast on93.3-HD2), flipped tomainstream rock as "Rock 94.9/102.3". The first song on "Rock" was "Cum On Feel the Noize" byQuiet Riot.^[10][11]

• Facility details for Facility ID 71411 (KISO) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• KISO inNielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 138619 (K235CD) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• K235CD at FCCdata.org

• HD Radio stations
• Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations in Omaha, Nebraska
• Radio stations established in 1976
• IHeartMedia radio stations
• 1976 establishments in Nebraska

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