KCNZ (1650

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

) is a commercial AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed to serve the community of

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 by ...

. The station primarily broadcasts a

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 ...

format. KCNZ is owned by James Coloff, through licensee Coloff Media, LLC, and is an affiliate of

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...

. KCNZ carries

The Dan Patrick Show ''The Dan Patrick Show'' is a syndicated radio and television sports talk show, hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by Patrick and is syndicated to radio stations by Premiere Radio Networks, within and indepen ...

and

The Jim Rome Show ''The Jim Rome Show'' is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific Time. The show is produced in Los Angeles, syndicated by CBS Sports Radio, and can be heard on affil ...

. Play by play on the station includes the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

football and basketball, the NFL from

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under president and general manager P.K. O'Handley. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterl ...

hockey, Waterloo Bucks baseball, and Cedar Falls High School football and basketball. In the event of scheduling conflicts, some events are moved to sister station

KCFI KCFI (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve the Cedar Falls, Iowa area. The station primarily broadcasts an oldies format but airs Minnesota Twins baseball and some sports overflow from sister station KCNZ. KCFI is licensed t ...

History

KCNZ originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with KCNZ (now

) in Cedar Rapids authorized to move from 1250 to 1650 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. This notice lists the KCNZ under its earlier (and later) call sign of KCFI. A construction permit for the new station on 1650 kHz, also located in Cedar Falls, was issued the call sign KDNZ on August 3, 1998. The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. However, this deadline has been extended multiple times, and both stations have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership."FCC Rejects Clear Channel-Withers Deal For WDDD-A"
September 1, 2010 (allaccess.com) On March 31, 2004, the two stations swapped call letters, with KCNZ moving from 1250 AM to 1650 AM, and KDNZ transferred to 1250 AM from 1650 AM. (On May 24, 2012, 1250 AM went back to its original call sign of KCFI).

References

External links

KCNZ official website
CNZ Cedar Falls, Iowa CBS Sports Radio stations Radio stations established in 2001 2001 establishments in Iowa Fox Sports Radio stations {{Iowa-radio-station-stub