KSAJ-FM (98.5 FM) 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 radi ...

licensed to

Burlingame, Kansas Burlingame is a city in Osage County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 971. History Burlingame was originally established as Council City and was an stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The Council City p ...

, United States. The station is currently owned by Alpha Media LLC,.

History

KSAJ-FM went on the air April 1, 1985, as a re-frequencied KABI-FM, and was licensed to Abilene, Kansas. The “SAJ” call letters stood for “Salina-Abilene-Junction City” – the primary cities of its coverage area. KABI-FM was originally a 3,000-watt (ERP) Class A station at 98.3 MHz. The frequency change to 98.5 MHz was accompanied by an increase in power to 100,000 watts (ERP), and a physical move of the transmitter site from northwest Abilene to about 10 miles south of Abilene, east of K-15 on 1400 Avenue in rural

Dickinson County Dickinson County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Dickinson County, Iowa * Dickinson County, Kansas * Dickinson County, Michigan See also * Dickenson County, Virginia Dickenson County is a county located in the Commonw ...

. Also on April 1, 1985, sister station KABI changed call letters and became KSAJ. The stations simulcast programming for about two years. In 1987, KSAJ returned to being KABI with separate programming, and KSAJ continued on as an FM-only radio station, carrying an

oldies 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 ...

format. The station long carried

ABC Radio Networks ABC Radio may refer to: Australia * History of ABC Radio (Australia), the division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) responsible for: ** ABC Classic, a classical music radio station ** ABC Classic 2, an un-presented streaming-only c ...

' "

Good Time Oldies Good Time Oldies is a 24-hour music format offered to local radio stations across the country that was originally produced by Jones Radio Networks. After the sales of Jones Radio Networks to Dial Global in 2008, the format was absorbed into D.G.`s ...

" satellite feed before switching to

The True Oldies Channel Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel (also known more recently as ''The True Oldies Channel: Greatest Hits'') is a radio network begun in the spring of 2004. Originally distributed by ABC Radio Networks via satellite, the service plays a hybrid ol ...

, then switched back to Good Time Oldies in 2014. In late 1991, KSAJ-FM and KABI were sold by broadcaster Norton Warner of

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, to J.K. Vanier and Jerry Hinrikus of Salina, who later sold them to MCC Radio (Morris Communications) in January 2004. Then, on September 1, 2015, Alpha Media, LLC acquired the stations. In October 2016, Alpha sold their Salina cluster (which KSAJ-FM was a part of) to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

-based Rocking M Media. However, KSAJ-FM was retained by Alpha, who announced plans to move the station into the Topeka market (with the process beginning in the late 1990s) and join it with WIBW and

WIBW-FM WIBW-FM (94.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Topeka, Kansas. It is owned by Alpha Media and airs a country radio format. The studios and offices are on SW Executive Drive in Topeka. The transmitter is off Windy Hill Road in Maple ...

, and

KTPK KTPK (106.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic country format and is currently branded as "Country 106.9". The station is located in Topeka, Kansas, where it is licensed. The station is currently owned by Alpha Media. History KTPK si ...

. In February 2017, after the closing of the Salina cluster's sale to Rocking M, Alpha moved the KSAJ-FM studios from Abilene to Topeka. Initially, the station planned to relocate their transmitter to the tower of WIBW-FM/ TV, located west of Topeka in rural Wabaunsee County, and reduce their power output 69,000 watts. However, due to co-channel interference concerns with

KQKQ-FM KQKQ-FM (98.5 FM, ''Sweet 98-5'') is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States, the station serves the Omaha metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by NRG Media. ...

in the Omaha-

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

market, KSAJ-FM changed transmitter sites, first to the site of WIBW (and reduced power to 25,000 watts), and then to the

KTWU-TV KTWU (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, owned by Washburn University. The station's studios are located on the western edge of the Washburn University campus at 19th Street and Jewell Avenue (with a ...

/ KWIC/

KTOP-FM KTOP-FM (102.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Marys, Kansas, and serving the Topeka metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a country music radio format A radio format or programming format (not to ...

tower in northwest Topeka, and reduced power even further to 17,500 watts. At 6 p.m. on November 10, 2017, KSAJ-FM shut down its Dickinson County transmitter, signed on their new Topeka transmitter (with a new

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 br ...

of Burlingame), and began stunting with Christmas music as "Christmas 98.5." At midnight on December 26, KSAJ-FM debuted its new adult hits format as "98.5 Jack FM."98.5 Jack FM Debuts in Topeka
Radioinsight - December 26, 2017

References

External links

* {{Alpha Media SAJ-FM Alpha Media radio stations Adult hits radio stations in the United States Jack FM stations Radio stations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Kansas