KFIL-FM (103.1
FM, "True Country") is an American commercial
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
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
Chatfield, Minnesota
Chatfield is a city in Fillmore and Olmsted counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 2,779 at the 2010 census. The city's area is split almost equally between the two counties. Chatfield is known as "The Gateway to Bluff Cou ...
. The station, established in 1970 by O.B. Borgen, is currently owned by
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
and the
broadcast license
A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...
is held by Townsquare Media Rochester License, LLC.
Programming
KFIL-FM broadcasts 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
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
. During
daylight hours
Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...
, this broadcast is in conjunction with its
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
,
KFIL (1060
AM). The station serves
Fillmore County and the greater
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic.
Acco ...
, area.
As a
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to:
* Full-service radio, a wide range of programming
* Full Service Network, a communications company
Entertainment
* "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block''
* F ...
station, non-music programming includes
CNN Radio
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
, agriculture news, market reports, and specialized weather reports.
KFIL-FM is an affiliate of the
Linder Farm Network {{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 ...
.
KFIL-FM also broadcasts a
tradio
Tradio is a type of talk radio show format, though now considered archaic, where listeners call in to buy or sell items. The concept is analogous to classified ads in local newspapers and most prevalent in the south and midwest.
"Tradio" is a po ...
program called "Swap Shop" and a community calendar bulletin each weekday.
Weekend programming includes five hours of local church services and other Christian programming on Sunday mornings and two hours of
oldies music
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...
on Sunday nights.
Sports programming on KFIL-FM includes local
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
,
high school basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
, high school baseball, and high school softball games during the season, ''KFIL Sports Round-up'' with Devon Krueger each weekday, plus ''Coaches Corner'' on Saturday mornings from August through April.
History
Borgen era
This station received its original
construction permit
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
on September 1, 1970. It began regular broadcast operations in April 1971, with 3,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s of power with an antenna in
height above average terrain
Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...
.
The station was assigned the
call sign
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 ...
"KFIL-FM" by 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).
The station, like its AM
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
, was originally licensed to serve the
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of
Preston, Minnesota
Preston is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,325 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fillmore County. The Root River (Minnesota), Root River r ...
.
The station was originally owned and operated by KFIL, Inc., with Obed Samuel "O.B." Borgen as president of the corporation.
In October 1991, ownership of KFIL, Inc., was transferred to sons Michael S. Borgen and Jeffrey T. Borgen.
The station stayed in the Borgen family's control for more than 30 years.
Obed Borgen died in July 1999.
Cumulus era
In December 2003, Michael S. Borgen and Jeffrey T. Borgen sold KFIL, Inc., to
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
through its Cumulus Broadcasting, LLC, subsidiary.
The published combined sale price of
KFIL, KFIL-FM, and
KVGO (through KVGO, Inc.)
was $3,000,000.
The deal gained FCC approval on February 5, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on March 30, 2004. The
broadcast license
A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...
for KFIL-FM was formally transferred from KFIL, Inc., to Cumulus Licensing, LLC, on December 31, 2004.
Longtime KFIL/KFIL-FM air personality Mike Sveen retired from broadcasting in 2007. The former announcer, sports reporter, and
Preston, Minnesota
Preston is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,325 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fillmore County. The Root River (Minnesota), Root River r ...
, city council member had worked at KFIL/KFIL-FM for more than 25 years.
In September 2007, Cumulus applied to the FCC to change KFIL-FM's
city of license
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American broa ...
from Preston, Minnesota, to nearby
Chatfield, Minnesota
Chatfield is a city in Fillmore and Olmsted counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 2,779 at the 2010 census. The city's area is split almost equally between the two counties. Chatfield is known as "The Gateway to Bluff Cou ...
. The FCC approved the change on January 8, 2008.
Townsquare era
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including KFIL-FM, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of
Dial Global
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...
; Townsquare and Dial Global were both controlled by
Oaktree Capital Management
Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele.
The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...
.
The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.
References
External links
KFIL-FM official website
{{Townsquare Media
Radio stations in Minnesota
Radio stations established in 1971
Country radio stations in the United States
Fillmore County, Minnesota
1971 establishments in Minnesota
Townsquare Media radio stations