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| Broadcast area | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1540kHz |
| Branding | KXEL News/Talk 1540 |
| Programming | |
| Format | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | July 14, 1942; 83 years ago (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 asNews/Talk 1540, is aClass A,clear-channelradio station serving theWaterloo andCedar Rapids metropolitan areas with aAll-news radio/Talk radioformat.
KXEL is one of two FCC Class 1-A stations in Iowa, the other beingWHO inDes Moines. It operates at 50,000 watts, 24 hours a day from a two-tower facility nearDysart, IA on theBenton/Tama County line. A single tower is used during the day for a non-directional signal. It provides secondary coverage to most of eastern Iowa during the day (as far west asDes Moines, as far south asOttumwa and as far east asDubuque and as far north asMason City). At night, power is fed to both towers in a directional pattern to protect ZNS-1,Nassau, Bahamas. Due to the cardioid-shaped pattern aimed north, KXEL'sskywave signal can be heard throughout the northern plains states and central Canadian provinces.
KXEL was created by Don E. Kassner, who worked for Joe Dumond. The station began broadcasting on July 14, 1942, and was the first radio facility in the United States to be granted 50,000 watts of power with its original license. It began airingABC Radio programming from pop hits of the 1940s under the "Stardust" satellite format before switching to amiddle-of-the-road (MOR) format under the name "Timeless" until the network's demise in 2010. KXEL also featuredcountry music programming before switching to its current news/talk format. Dumond later sold KXEL to career broadcaster Egmont Sonderling, then on November 9, 1958, Sonderling signed the papers transferring KXEL's license toCy N. Bahakel. Woodward Broadcasting owned the station between 2011 and December 2014 before selling it, and its sister stations, to current owner, Cedar Rapids-based NRG Media LLC.
On November 16, 1947,KXEL-FM began broadcasting in Waterloo on 105.7 MHz. It was licensed to Josh Higgins Broadcasting Company, which also held the license for KXEL.[2]
In the early 1950s, KXEL filed for the channel 7 television license in Waterloo. However, Waterloo's other powerhouse radio station, KWWL (nowKPTY, a sister station to KXEL) wanted the license as well. KXEL and KWWL went to court and battled it out. KXEL was so sure it would win the suit 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.[3]
42°10′48″N92°18′38″W / 42.18000°N 92.31056°W /42.18000; -92.31056