KSNR (100.3 FM, "100.3 Cat Country") is a commercial radio station serving the

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

area broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Fisher, Minnesota, KSNR first began broadcasting in 1976 under the call sign KOSN in

Thief River Falls Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. Thief River Falls is the county ...

. The station is currently owned by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

. The station's main competitor is Leighton Broadcasting's 97 KYCK (97.1 FM). KSNR also broadcasts University of North Dakota men's and women's basketball home games, while sister station

KQHT KQHT (96.1 FM, "96.1 The Fox") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format serving Grand Forks, North Dakota, that's licensed to Crookston, Minnesota. It began broadcasting in 1985. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KQHT p ...

"96.1 The Fox" broadcasts University of North Dakota men's ice hockey and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

games as the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...

, and sister station KKXL-AM "1440 The Fan" broadcasts

University of North Dakota women's ice hockey The North Dakota Fighting Sioux women's ice hockey team was the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competed in National Col ...

History

The station began life at 99.3 FM as KOSN in Thief River Falls, Minnesota in 1976. KOSN broadcast only 3,000 watts. The station changed call letters to KSNR in 1983 as it flipped to an oldies format, concentrating on 50s and 60s "Golden Oldies" format. After upgrading to 100,000 watts at 100.3 FM in 1987, the station attracted listeners in

, since the signal could be heard on most radios and KSNR was the only oldies station in the area until 1990. KSNR later became "Kool 100.3" in 1995 from studios in Grand Forks after KNOX-FM flipped from Oldies as "Kool 94.7" to Classic Country as "Real Country 94.7", and KSNR as "Kool 100.3" also began playing 1970s era music after being sold. KSNR also played

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day annually until the format change in 2005. In 2000,

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

bought out KSNR and several other stations, and the format was changed to play 1960s and 1970s era music. It also became the

for University of North Dakota basketball play-by-play broadcasts. Kool 100.3 switched to country music as "Cat Country" in October 2005, competing with Leighton Broadcasting's heritage country station

KYCK KYCK (97.1 FM, "97 KYCK") is a radio station broadcasting a country format serving Grand Forks, North Dakota that's licensed to Crookston, Minnesota. It first began broadcasting in 1979 under the call sign KDWZ. The station is currently owned ...

and classic country station KNOX-FM "Rooster 94.7". In 2006, sister station classic rock

"96.1 The Fox" began shifting towards to an updated classic hits version of the former "Kool 100.3" oldies format. In 2005, KSNR changed its city of license from

to Fisher, which would allow it to move its transmitter tower closer to

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

in the future. In the fall of 2012, all local personalities were removed from Cat Country in favor of Bobby Bones Show in the morning and Premium Choice radio personalities in all other dayparts. The previous local morning show was moved to sister station

"96.1 The Fox", which carries an updated classic hits version of the former "Kool 100.3" oldies format. In 2016, Cat Country brought back some local personalities previously heard on the station. On October 29, 2018, it was announced that, as

would lose its grandfathered ownership limits in the Brunswick and Grand Forks markets as part of its bankruptcy restructuring, the company would place KSNR and

WHFX WHFX (107.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Darien, Georgia, United States, the station serves the Brunswick area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC. History The ...

into the newly formed Sun & Snow Station Trust, under the oversight of former Backyard Broadcasting CEO Barry Drake, as preparation for an eventual sale of the signals. On December 23, 2020, iHeart filed to reclaim KSNR from the Sun & Snow Station Trust.

References

External links

100.3 Cat Country websiteUND Fighting Sioux game broadcast info
{{coord, 47.977, N, 96.612, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title SNR Country radio stations in the United States 1976 establishments in Minnesota Radio stations established in 1976