Ken Palmer (died 1984) was the owner and general manager who built KIMN into Denver’s dominant Top 40 station, and an early owner of KYSN in Colorado Springs. If you grew up on KIMN in the 60s, you were listening to the station he ran.
Coming to Denver
After working in radio in Pampa, Texas, and Albuquerque, Ken came to Denver in 1952 to run the Intermountain Network’s office. He was regional sales manager in 1954 when KFEL became KIMN, the network’s flagship. In 1958 he bought KYSN in Colorado Springs and owned it for several years.
Ruling Denver Top 40
In 1960 Ken and partners bought KIMN, and he ran it as general manager. At its peak, KIMN pulled in more listeners than the next seven Denver stations combined. He sold KIMN and a sister station in Portland in 1970 for $6 million.
When KIMN signed off in 1988, Ken’s was the last name mentioned on the air, 18 years after he’d left the station.
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Career Moments
1958: Ken Palmer buys KYSN in Colorado Springs
Ken Palmer, then the Intermountain Network's man in Denver, bought Colorado Springs' KYSN in 1958 and owned it for several years. Two years later he would buy Denver's KIMN.
1960: Ken Palmer and partners buy KIMN for $400,000
Ken Palmer and his business partners bought Denver's KIMN in 1960 for $400,000, with Palmer running the station as general manager. Over the next decade KIMN reached as high as a 56 share, more listeners than the next seven Denver stations combined.
1970: Ken Palmer sells KIMN
Ken Palmer sold KIMN, along with a sister station in Portland, for $6 million in 1970, fifteen times what he'd paid for KIMN a decade earlier. When KIMN signed off in 1988, Palmer's was the last name mentioned on the air.
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