KARZ (99.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

format

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to serve

Marshall, Minnesota Marshall is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,680 at the 2010 census. Marshall is a regional center in southwest Minnesota, and the county seat of Lyon County. It is the headquarters of the Schwan Food Com ...

. The station is owned by

Linder Radio Group {{unreferenced, date=November 2021 Linder Radio Group is a media company based in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. It owns and operates 19 radio stations in southern Minnesota. The company is owned by the family of John Linder. The Linder Radio Group also ...

and the signal reaches most of southwestern Minnesota, eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa including

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, Brookings,

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

, Willmar,

Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...

and Spirit Lake. KARZ also rebroadcasts on FM

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

K277AI 103.3 FM in Russell/

History

First two decades of KARZ as a rock format on 107.5

KBJJ changed its call letters to KARZ, and switched from

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

in 1997 following being purchased by

KMHL KMHL (1400 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a full service News/Talk/Classic Country format serving Marshall, Minnesota. Since its inception, the station has been owned by Linder Radio Group. The station first signed on the air on November 3 ...

KKCK KKCK (94.7 FM) is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in Marshall, Minnesota (licensed to Springfield), serving the Marshall and Redwood Falls areas. The station is owned by John Linder and operated from the KMHL/KKCK studios in Marshall. From 1982 ...

. 107.5 KARZ later segued into a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

format around 2000. On October 16, 2017, 94.7 FM and 107.5 FM swapped call letters: 94.7 FM changed their call letters to KARZ and 107.5 FM changed their call letters to KNSG. 107.5 FM flipped from

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

with KFAN 100.3 (KFXN) programming, and 94.7 FM rebranded their

format to the KARZ call letters.

Heritage CHR/Top 40 99.7 KKCK

99.7 first signed on in 1975 as KMHL-FM (100.1) with a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format, before switching to Top 40 (CHR) in the 1982.

debuted automated with TM Programming's "Stereo Rock" Top 40 format briefly, then converted to fully local programming in the mid-1980s. After the

call letter In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

change to KKCK in 1982, the station changed its slogan to "KK100," also known as "Double K 100." In 1988, it adopted "FM 100 KKCK" as its slogan after upgrading from 3,000 watts at 100.1 FM to 100,000 watts at 99.7 FM. The station repositioned as "99-7 KKCK" with the "Always A Better Music Mix" slogan in 1992. The station had significant listenership in the

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

market during the 1990s, despite its transmitter tower being located over 50 miles away, as it was the de facto Top 40/CHR for Sioux Falls until

KKLS-FM KKLS-FM (104.7 MHz, "Hot 104.7") is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format. The station serves the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, area. KKLS and its sister stations were owned by Southern Minnesota Broadcasting until 2003 when they were ...

flipped to "Hot 104.7" in 1997. While KKCK continues to be a minor factor in the Sioux Falls market, the station primarily focuses on

, the surrounding southwestern Minnesota region, and the nearby

Brookings, South Dakota Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is South Dakota's fourth largest city, with a population of 23,377 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State Un ...

area. Unlike most Top 40/CHR formatted stations, KKCK has flexibility to introduce new music to listeners (including, but not limited to, Top 40 (CHR),

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

, and

Mainstream Urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

) that includes genres such as

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

, and

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

Modern AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

including those genres' new music in its music mix. The station also aired ''The Shag'', a long running

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

program, on Sunday nights. It shares a local news department with

, and gets national news from

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. A large amount of the broadcasting day is live, KKCK is regarded as a "

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

" Top 40/CHR station, thanks in part to its longevity in the format. KKCK also benefits from the long reach of its 99.7 FM signal, which has local coverage in

and

, rimshot coverage of

Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,191 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University. Geography Madison is located at (44.007734, -97.114738). ...

and

, and can be regularly received as far north as

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife ar ...

and

Willmar, Minnesota Willmar is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division point on the Great Northern ...

(north of Redwood Falls), and as far south as

Canton, South Dakota Canton is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. Canton is located 20 minutes south of Sioux Falls in southeastern South Dakota. Canton is nestled in the rolling hills of the Sioux Valley, providing an abun ...

(south of

), and

Spirit Lake, Iowa Spirit Lake is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County. The town is located along the western shore of East Okoboji Lake, in the Iowa Great Lakes reg ...

(south of

). A winter storm damaged KKCK's transmitter in December 2015, and the station has been broadcasting at reduced power since. In May 2017, KKCK's programming moved to 94.7 KNSG while the transmitter is being rebuilt. KKCK returned to full power at 99.7 FM around November 2017, and

resuming at 94.7 KNSG.

Frequency swap with 94.7 KARZ

On April 3, 2019, the

Top 40/CHR formatted

moved to the more eastern signal of the Springfield

94.7 FM, with a fringe signal coverage of

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, swapping frequencies with

-formatted KARZ, which moved to the larger coverage area, and the more western signal, of 99.7 FM Marshall.KARZ & KKCK Swap Frequencies
Radioinsight – April 3, 3019 KARZ plays many of the songs now included in the

format during KKCK's early years as a Top 40/CHR, and KKCK adopted the "Today's Hit Music" slogan with no format changes. KKCK's frequency swap from 99.7 FM to 94.7 FM leaves

without a local Top 40/CHR station, however it is within

rimshot A rimshot is a percussion technique used to produce an accented snare drum backbeat. The sound is produced by simultaneously hitting the rim and head of a drum with a drum stick. The sound and various techniques The sound of rimshots can be ...

coverage of

Top 40/CHR stations

"Hot 104.7" and

KQSF KQSF (95.7 FM, "Q95-7") is a radio station licensed to Dell Rapids, South Dakota; it serves the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area. It first began broadcasting in 1998 under the call sign KSOB. The station is currently owned by Duey E. Wright, throu ...

"Q95.7". Local

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station

KSDJ KSDJ (90.7 FM, "New Rock 90.7") is a radio station licensed to serve Brookings, South Dakota. The station is owned by South Dakota State University. It airs an Alternative rock music format. The station was assigned the KSDJ call letters by the ...

"New Rock 90.7" does play

music included in KKCK's rock-leaning CHR/Top 40 ("Rock 40") format.

Previous logo

References

External links

*
Marshall Radio
* * {{Classic Hits Radio Stations in South Dakota Radio stations in Minnesota Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1975