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KIIQ (102.7 FM) was the Top 40 sound on 102.7 in Colorado Springs from 1974 to 1984. If you were cruising the Springs in the late 70s or early 80s with 102.7 on, this was your station before it turned into “Kicks.”

A new name in 1974

The KIIQ calls were adopted on 102.7 in 1974 after the former KCMS operation was sold to Mountain States Broadcasting. The station kept playing contemporary music and Top 40, with a somewhat less aggressive approach than the KEDI-KCMS “Music Mother” days that came before.

New owners, new sound

Wikes/Abaris Communications bought KIIQ in 1979. The station tried modern rock in the early 80s, then changed to KIKX in 1984 and went back to CHR as “Kicks 102.7.”

The AM partner

KIIQ had an AM partner on 1490. The AM and FM had both been KCMS before they were renamed KIIQ in 1974. The AM later broke away as KRTS, briefly returned to KIIQ, and then became KIKX-AM.

Where the studios have been

• 1953: the 102.7 lineage began at 68 Minnehaha Avenue, Manitou Springs, at the Edmonds operation (originally on 104.9 FM)
• 1956 onward: the FM moved to 102.7 with a Cheyenne Mountain transmitter, and the Minnehaha Avenue address stayed in industry listings into the late 1960s

Sources

• Wikipedia: KBIQ
• FCC history cards
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)

KEDI (1490 AM, with 102.7 FM) was the call sign that gave Colorado Springs the “KEDI-KCMS” pairing. If you remember a Top 40 station called “Colorado’s Music Mother” in the early 70s, you’re remembering the FM half of this team.

A new identity in 1970

KEDI was the 1490 AM identity adopted in 1970 after the KCMS AM/FM operation was sold to Black Forest Development. The AM moved toward information and educational programming, while 102.7 FM kept the KCMS call sign and leaned further into contemporary music.

KEDI-KCMS

The pair was promoted together as “KEDI-KCMS,” and by 1973 the FM side was a full-time Top 40 outlet known as “Colorado’s Music Mother.” In 1974 the AM and FM were sold and both became KIIQ.

Where the studios have been

• 1953: the 102.7 lineage began at 68 Minnehaha Avenue, Manitou Springs, at the Edmonds operation
• 1956 onward: the FM moved to 102.7 with a Cheyenne Mountain transmitter, and the Minnehaha Avenue address stayed in industry listings into the late 1960s

Sources

• Wikipedia: KBIQ
• FCC call-sign history
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)

KCMS (102.7 FM) is where the frequency you may know as 102.7 got its start. If you grew up in the Pikes Peak region and remember 102.7 playing Top 40 in the early 70s, this is the call sign that carried it.

Classical beginnings

KCMS signed on in July 1953 at 104.9 FM as “Colorado’s Classical Music Station,” created by Bud Edmonds and Garden of the Gods Broadcasting. In 1956 it moved to 102.7 and transmitted from Cheyenne Mountain.

The AM partner

That same year KCMS gained a 1490 AM simulcast partner, and the two stayed linked through several identities. In 1970 the AM became KEDI while the FM kept KCMS, and the pair promoted itself as “KEDI-KCMS.” In 1974 both became KIIQ.

Going Top 40

By 1973 the FM had turned into a full-time Top 40 station programmed by Steve Scott, and it became an early FM challenger to KYSN.

Where the studios have been

• 1953: 68 Minnehaha Avenue, Manitou Springs, at the Edmonds operation (originally on 104.9 FM)
• 1956 onward: on 102.7 with a Cheyenne Mountain transmitter, and the Minnehaha Avenue address stayed in industry listings into the late 1960s

Sources

• Wikipedia: KBIQ
• FCC history cards
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)

KWES (1460 AM) is one of those blink-and-you-missed-it call signs. If you were listening in Colorado Springs in 1989 or 1990, this was the name on 1460 AM for a short stretch.

A short stop on 1460

The 1460 AM facility signed on in 1956 as KAFA, later became KYSN and KKHT, and then took the KKCS calls in 1985. It carried KWES from 1989 to 1990, then went back to KKCS. In 2003 it became KZNT.

Where the studios have been

• By 1991: the same 1460 operation was at 5145 Centennial Blvd., Suite 200, as KKCS
• 1994 to 1995: KKCS AM operated from 5145 Centennial alongside KKCS-FM and KIKX

This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KWES, we’d love to hear from you.

Sources

• Wikipedia: KZNT
• FCC call-sign history
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)
• Radio Business Report (print)
• Country Radio Seminar directory (print)

KKCS (1460 AM) was the AM half of one of Colorado Springs’ best-remembered country operations. If you tuned in to “KCS” country in the 80s or 90s, this was the AM side of that family.

The KCS country years

The call sign was on 1460 AM from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1990 to 2003. Its defining relationship was with KKCS-FM, which launched at 101.9 FM in 1979. For part of the 1980s the AM simulcast its FM sister. In 1989 the AM briefly became KWES before returning to KKCS in 1990. It had been KKHT before 1985, and it became KZNT in 2003.

Teaming up with KIKX

By 1992, KKCS and KIKX were running under a sales-only LMA, and Bob Gourley, KKCS’s general manager, took over from KIKX’s Dennis Lamme as part of the deal. Trade directories from the mid-1990s show the KIKX/KKCS operation sharing the same Centennial Boulevard building.

The 1993 team

• Bob Gourley, general manager
• Jerry Grant, general sales manager
• M. Theotis Etchason, promotions manager
• Charlie Cassidy, program director
• Dave Shepel, music director
• Gwen Rhea, news director
• Mel Rauh, chief engineer
• Bruce Erickson, KKCS-FM general sales manager
• Shane Farris, public affairs director

Where the studios have been

• By the early 1990s: 5145 Centennial Blvd., Suite 200
• 1994 to 1997: still at 5145 Centennial, with KKCS AM/FM and KIKX together
• By 2002: 3515 N. Chestnut Street, where Jerry Grant was listed as GM/sales manager and Brian Leifker as program director

Sources

• Wikipedia: KZNT
• FCC call-sign history
• Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook (1993) (print)
• Billboard (Nov. 7, 1992) (print)
• Radio Business Report Source Guides (1994 to 1997) (print)
• M Street Radio Directory (2002 to 2003) (print)

KKHT (1460 AM) was the call sign on 1460 AM in Colorado Springs from 1983 to 1985, right after the long KYSN Top 40 run. It was a short chapter in a frequency that has changed names many times.

Between KYSN and KKCS

The station took the KKHT calls in 1983 after KYSN. In 1985 it became KKCS and was paired with country-formatted KKCS-FM. Today the same facility is KZNT.

Where the studios have been

• 1958 to the 1960s: the original KYSN studio was on the second floor at the northwest corner of Colorado Avenue and Tejon Street, according to a former KYSN employee’s recollection
• 1964: the Radio Annual lists KYSN at 30 S. Tejon Street, the earliest street-number address found so far
• Later: 5145 Centennial Blvd. #200 by the early 1990s and 3515 N. Chestnut Street by 2002

This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KKHT, we’d love to hear from you.

Sources

• Wikipedia: KZNT
• FCC call-sign history
• Radio Annual (1964) (print)
• First-person oral-history contribution from a former KYSN employee (October 2026)

KYSN (1460 AM) was the Colorado Springs Top 40 station on 1460 from 1958 to 1983. If you were a teenager in the Pikes Peak region in the 1960s or early 70s, KYSN was a major part of the youth-music scene, and it helped launch or employ a number of local broadcasters.

The people

Veteran broadcaster Gary Street started at KYSN in 1980 after being hired by “Captain” Dan Jackson. Steve Scott also became a prominent KYSN personality after earlier work in Pueblo radio.

After KYSN

The station became KKHT in 1983. It started life in 1956 as KAFA and is today KZNT.

Where the studios have been

• 1958 to the 1960s: the original studio was on the second floor at the northwest corner of Colorado Avenue and Tejon Street, according to a former KYSN employee’s recollection
• 1964: the Radio Annual lists KYSN at 30 S. Tejon Street, the earliest street-number address found so far, and possibly the same downtown facility
• Later: 5145 Centennial Blvd. #200 by the early 1990s and 3515 N. Chestnut Street by 2002

Sources

• Wikipedia: KZNT
• Colorado Springs Gazette: profiles and obituaries (print)
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)
• Radio Annual (1964) (print)
• FCC history records
• First-person oral-history contribution from a former KYSN employee (October 2026)

KAFA (1460 AM) was the original call sign of the Colorado Springs station on 1460 AM, which signed on December 21, 1956. If you know 1460 as KYSN or as today’s “The Answer,” this is where that story begins.

From KAFA to KYSN

The station became KYSN on July 1, 1958. The call-sign lineage runs KAFA, KYSN, KKHT, KKCS, KWES, KKCS, KZNT.

Where the studios have been

• 1958 to the 1960s: KYSN’s original studio was on the second floor at the northwest corner of Colorado Avenue and Tejon Street, according to a former KYSN employee’s recollection.
• 1964: the Radio Annual lists KYSN at 30 S. Tejon Street, the earliest street-number address found so far, and possibly the same downtown location.
• Later: 5145 Centennial Blvd. #200 by the early 1990s and 3515 N. Chestnut Street by 2002.

Sources

• Wikipedia: KZNT
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)
• Radio Annual (1964) (print)
• FCC history records
• First-person oral-history contribution from a former KYSN employee (October 2026)

KRDO-FM is a call sign that has lived on two different Colorado Springs frequencies. If you remember Peak 95.1, or the Breeze and Sax 105.5 on the other side of the dial, you’ve already met both of them.

The first KRDO-FM: 95.1

From 1969 to 2006, KRDO-FM was 95.1 FM, the FM sister of KRDO 1240 AM. It played beautiful and easy-listening music for years, became “Peak 95.1” adult contemporary in 1994, and went hot AC in 1998. In 2006 that station became KATC-FM.

The second KRDO-FM: 105.5

The KRDO-FM calls then moved to 105.5 FM. That facility had signed on April 8, 1973, as KWYD-FM, first with country and then Christian programming. It became KBZE “The Breeze” in 1989 with new age and smooth jazz, KHII “K-High” country in 1991, and KSKX “Sax 105.5” smooth jazz in 1996. News-Press & Gazette began operating the station in 2006, flipped it to news and talk and adopted KRDO-FM. NPG bought the station in 2015.

Today the 105.5 KRDO-FM is paired with KRDO 1240 AM and KRDO-TV under News-Press & Gazette, bringing back the old KRDO AM/FM pairing on a different FM frequency.

Awards

• 2025: Award of Excellence for Best News Coverage of a Single Event, “Pikes Peak Hill Climb” (Dan Cochell, Chris Moyer and the KRDO News Radio team). Award of Excellence for Best Sports Coverage by an Individual or Team, Colorado College hockey play-by-play by Ken Landau.
• 2023: Certificate of Merit for Best Sports Coverage by an Individual or Team, “Colorado College Tiger Hockey” (Ken Landau).

Sources

• Colorado Broadcasters Association: 2025 awards
• Colorado Broadcasters Association: 2023 awards
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)
• FCC history records

KSPZ (92.9 FM) is the best-known historical identity of Colorado Springs’ 92.9 FM facility, better known to many listeners as “Z93.” If you listened to contemporary rock and pop in the Springs in the 1970s, you may well have had Z93 on.

From KVOR-FM to Z93

The signal signed on February 1, 1960, as KVOR-FM, simulcasting portions of AM 1300 KVOR. It became KSPZ in 1974 and took on Century 21’s “Z Format.” Later the station moved away from the syndicated service toward live and local programming. In 1996, Triathlon Broadcasting bought KVOR and KSPZ and combined them with KVUU and KSSS/KTWK. KSPZ became KKPK in 2006.

Remembering the switch to Z93

A former KVOR/KSPZ employee who worked there from 1973 to 1978 remembers being present for the change from KVOR-FM to KSPZ and Z93. They recall the format change as deliberately dramatic. Listeners who had fallen asleep to the old easy-listening, MOR sound woke up to contemporary rock and pop, and the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was the first song of the new era. They remember the audience turning over almost completely, nearly all of the existing sponsors cancelling and the station running essentially commercial-free for more than 90 days while it rebuilt its advertiser base. They also remember Z93 doing strongly in the next ratings book.

Where the studios have been

• 1972: while still KVOR-FM, the FCC authorized the studio and remote-control location at 600 E. Brookside Street
• 1973 to 1978: the former employee remembers the KVOR/KSPZ operation at 615 E. Brookside Street, where Brookside dead-ended into the station parking lot, in a building with the broadcast end and the business end separated by a thick rubber gasket
• By the mid-1980s: KSPZ and KVOR at 615 E. Brookside Street
• By 1996: 2864 S. Circle Drive, Suite 150, with KVOR, KVUU and KTWK
• By the 2000s: 6805 Corporate Drive, Suite 130, once Citadel consolidated there

Sources

• Wikipedia: KKPK (92.9 facility history)
• Broadcasting Yearbook (print)
• Radio Business Report (print)
• U.S. Department of Justice antitrust records
• FCC history records
• First-person oral-history contribution from a former KVOR/KSPZ employee (October 2026)