| Broadcast area | Omaha -Lincoln, Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.7MHz |
| Branding | Spirit Catholic Radio Network |
| Programming | |
| Format | Catholic |
| Affiliations | EWTN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | VSS Catholic Communications |
| KETT | |
| History | |
First air date | April 25, 1965 (59 years ago) (1965-04-25) |
Former call signs | KBZR, KFRX, KFOR, KWHG |
Call sign meaning | Veni, Sancte Spiritus ("Come, Holy Spirit" inLatin)[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 34435 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 46,100 watts |
| HAAT | 409.3 meters (1,343 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°4′15.9″N96°13′32.3″W / 41.071083°N 96.225639°W /41.071083; -96.225639 |
| Translator(s) | 89.3 K207BY (Chadron) 99.3 K257FK (Columbus) |
| Repeater(s) | 88.1 KEJS (Sargent) 88.3 KOLB (Hartington) 90.1 KFJS (North Platte) 90.5 KETW (Ogallala) 91.5 KJWM (Grand Island) 91.9 KVEJ (Valentine) 99.5KETT (Mitchell) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | spiritcatholicradio.com |
KVSS (102.7MHz) is anon-commercialFM radio station airing aCatholicradio format.[3]Licensed toPapillion, Nebraska, the station serves theOmaha andLincoln areas. Some weekday shows are locally produced withEWTN Radio Network programs airing nights and weekends. The station is listener-supported, holding periodic on-the-airfundraisers and seeking donations on its website. It is owned by VSS Catholic Communications. KVSS's studios are on West A Street in Omaha (with auxiliary studios located inLincoln andGrand Island).
KVSS has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 46,100 watts. Thetransmitter is on Pflug Road near South 204th Street inGretna, Nebraska.[4] Programming is also heard on two FM translators, K207BY on 89.3 MHz inChadron and K257FK on 99.3 MHz inColumbus.[5][6]
In January 1999, VSS Catholic Communications, Inc. started radio station KNOS, a 500-watt signal at 88.9 MHz. The station was headed by Bill Thompson. It began broadcasting a mix ofContemporary Christian music and Catholictalk and teaching programms from the EWTN Radio Network. Additional programming followed from St. Joseph Communications, Catholic Answers, Ave Maria and Starboard Communications. After broadcasting for 10 years on a small signal, VSS partnered with Kolbe Media, a group of people committed to Catholic Radio in the Lincoln, Nebraska, community.
On January 29, 2009, Spirit Catholic Radio purchased a new 50,000-watt signal on 102.7 FM. The signal was able to reach both the Omaha and Lincoln communities, as well as over 1 million potential listeners throughout eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.[7] Its former frequency was sold to theBible Broadcasting Network and is nowKYFG.
Beginning in early 1980, the frequency was home toLincoln'sKFRX, which initially airedalbum rock before shifting to a long runningtop 40 format in July 1983. In 2007, afterClear Channel sold its Lincoln stations to Three Eagles Communications. Three Eagles spun off 102.7 FM andKRKR to Chapin Communications in order to meet ownership limits. This arrangement was only temporary, as Chapin was the intermediate buyer while a permanent buyer was being sought.[8]
On September 18, 2007, KFRX moved its format tosister station106.3 FM, while 102.7 FM beganstunting with a continuously repeating message directing listeners to the new frequency. A week later, 102.7 FM (now under the KLMY call letters, which later changed to KBZR) flipped to asoft AC format, branded as "102.7 The Breeze".[9] As part of the changes, the station was granted aconstruction permit to change itscity of license fromLincoln to Papillion, and its transmitter site from Lincoln to Gretna, in order to move into the Omaharadio market.
After a successful fundraiser needed to purchase KBZR, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale of the station from Chapin to KVSS in late December 2008. The station went on air with its new signal on January 29, 2009, and then moved to the Gretna tower and began broadcasting at that site on June 9.