The 1580 AM facility began in June 1957 as KPIK, a 5,000-watt daytime country station. In 1966 KPIK’s owners acquired KLST 94.3 and created KPIK-FM, producing a long-running country AM/FM pair. The two stations separated in 1978, with the FM becoming KILO.
The AM facility later went through several identities: KWYD beginning in 1987, KKKK in 2005, KREL in 2010 and KHIG in 2015. The KHIG era was branded “K-High 1580” and featured marijuana-oriented talk, an unusual specialty format. The station later became KFCS.
Paired / sister stations: Its defining historical pairing was KPIK/KPIK-FM, the predecessor relationship to today’s separate KFCS and KILO facilities.
Sources: FCC call-sign history; Broadcasting Yearbook; contemporary local coverage; published history of KFCS and KILO.
STATION FILE
FROM THE TIMELINE
Moments in KFCS-AM History
1987: KPIK 1580 becomes KWYD
Colorado Springs' 1580 AM, the original KPIK, switched to the KWYD call letters in 1987 under owner Edward J. Patrick. It was the first of several new identities for the facility after the KPIK era.
2005: 1580 AM becomes KKKK
Colorado Springs' 1580 AM dropped the KWYD calls it had carried since 1987 and became KKKK in 2005.
2010: 1580 AM becomes KREL
The 1580 AM facility in Colorado Springs switched from KKKK to the KREL call letters in 2010.
January 2013: KREL 1580 picks up ESPN Radio
KREL 1580 in Colorado Springs began carrying ESPN Radio's national sports programming in January 2013.
October 2014: KREL switches to Fox Sports Radio
KREL 1580 dropped ESPN Radio and became a Fox Sports Radio affiliate in October 2014.
April 13, 2015: 1580 becomes KHIG, K-High 1580
On April 13, 2015, KREL became KHIG and relaunched as K-High 1580, a talk station built around cannabis culture. It was one of the more unusual specialty formats in Colorado Springs radio history, arriving soon after Colorado legalized recreational marijuana.
2016: Jacob Barker takes over 1580 as The Trumpet
Jacob Barker acquired the 1580 AM facility in 2016 and programmed it with Christian talk as 1580 The Trumpet, ending the K-High cannabis-talk experiment.
December 20, 2019: Greeley Broadcasting buys 1580 AM
Greeley Broadcasting Corporation completed its purchase of Colorado Springs' 1580 AM on December 20, 2019, paying $85,000 for the facility.
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