KLIZ (1380 AM, "The Fan") is a

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 ...

broadcasting a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

format. Licensed to serve

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

, United States, it serves the

Brainerd Lakes area Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

. It first began broadcasting in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

. The station is owned by

Hubbard Broadcasting Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard. The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, ...

. KLIZ's programming is primarily supplied by the Fan Radio Network, based out of

KFXN-FM KFXN-FM (100.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb ...

in Minneapolis–St. Paul.

History

KLIZ signed on August 6, 1946 on 1400 AM under the ownership of Brainerd Broadcasting Company. It joined the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

on December 15, 1946. The station moved to 1380 AM in 1956. By 1971, KLIZ was airing middle of the road and

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, ...

, and was affiliated with the

NBC Radio Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

. In 1973, the station went to a full-time country music format. It moved to a middle of the road format in 1982. Sequel Communications bought KLIZ and its FM sister station,

KLIZ-FM KLIZ-FM (107.5 FM, "The Power Loon") is a classic rock music formatted radio station serving the Brainerd Lakes area from Brainerd, Minnesota. Its owner is Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. KLIZ-FM is a sister station to KVBR 1340 (Business News/Talk ...

(107.5), in 1985. CD Broadcasting bought the stations in 1987 and changed KLIZ to a contemporary country format. In 1988, news and talk programming were added, along with affiliations with the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

NBC Talknet NBC Talknet was a nighttime programming block on the NBC Radio Network from the 1980s to the 1990s. It comprised several advice-oriented call-in talk shows, the most notable personalities being Bruce Williams and Sally Jessy Raphael. At a time ...

, and the Minnesota News Network. CD Broadcasting exchanged the KLIZ stations to Sioux Valley Broadcasting for KJJQ and KKQQ in

Volga, South Dakota Volga ( ) is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States with a population of 2,113 at the 2020 census. History Volga was founded by the Western Town Lot Company on December 27, 1879, by Col. Arthur Jacoby, who had platted the area ...

in 1989. Sports programming was added to KLIZ's format in 1992. The KLIZ stations, along with KLLR and

KLLZ KLLZ-FM (99.1 FM, "Z99") is a radio station broadcasting from Bemidji, Minnesota (licensed to Walker, Minnesota), and airs a classic rock format. It has a wide coverage area across northern Minnesota, and enjoys a huge listening audience. KLLZ is ...

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, were acquired by Ingstad Broadcasting in a 1994 swap that saw Sioux Valley acquire North Dakota radio stations KDDR and KOVC AM- FM from Ingstad. Country music was dropped in December 1995 in favor of programming from

One on One Sports SportsMap is a sports radio network that is distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its history, through ...

. In 1996, Jim Ingstad Broadcasting sold nine of its northern Minnesota stations, including KLIZ, to the Provident Investment Council; the station's license was transferred to Kommerstad Communications. That May, KLIZ dropped sports for a simulcast of the news/talk programming of sister station KVBR (1340 AM); in November, KLIZ switched to an

adult contemporary 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, quie ...

format provided by

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 ...

. In January 1998, KLIZ returned to a talk radio format; by 2000, the station had affiliations with the

USA Radio Network USA Radio Network is an American mass media company, specializing in long-form spoken word (talk radio) and radio newscasts, produced and distributed with a generally conservative focus. USA Radio Network produces and distributes 24-hour news, n ...

and Westwood One.

Omni Broadcasting Omni Broadcasting was a small-market radio broadcasting company that operated for 25 years from headquarters in Bemidji, Minnesota. Organized in 1988, the company was owned and operated by Louis H. Buron, Jr., and Mary Campbell. They relocated fro ...

agreed to acquire the Kommerstad stations in 2003; the purchase had been planned since 2002. Shortly after Omni's BL Broadcasting subsidiary took over in 2004, BL swapped the formats of KLIZ and KVBR; KLIZ became sports radio station "The Fan", with programming being provided by the Fan Radio Network (then based out of KFAN in Minneapolis–St. Paul) and

Sporting News Radio SportsMap is a sports radio Radio network, network that is distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its h ...

. Hubbard Broadcasting announced on November 13, 2014 that it would purchase the Omni Broadcasting stations, including KLIZ; the $8 million sale was completed on February 27, 2015.

References

External links

* * * {{Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. Hubbard Broadcasting Radio stations in Minnesota Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Minnesota