KTPK (106.9 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 radio ...

broadcasting a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format and is currently branded as "Country 106.9". The station is located in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, where it is licensed. The station is currently owned by

Alpha Media Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which ...

History

KTPK signed on its country format in 1974. In 1997, Kansas Capital Broadcasting, which also owned KTKA-TV until it closed, bought the company. They made several changes like broadcasting

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

football and basketball games until 2005, adopted the name "Twister 106.9" in 1998, and then "K-Country" in 2002. In 2005, KTPK was sold to JMJ Broadcasting Company, Inc for $5.7 million. When JMJ Broadcasting Company, Inc. took over, they no longer wanted sports, so they dropped the KSU football games, and changed the station's name to "Country Legends 106.9", as the format shifted from contemporary country music to classic country.KTPK History
/ref> In mid-2006, KTPK soared in the ratings, and as of the latest ratings available (Spring 2012 and again in the Spring of 2013) they were rated #1 in the Topeka market for total listeners aged 12 and up. On September 1, 2015,

took ownership of KTPK. On the morning of November 21, 2018, KTPK dropped its

format and began stunting with

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 ...

as "Christmas 106.9", which pointed to the station possibly flipping to a new format after the holiday season. This might have been partially due to its drop in ratings from a 10.2 audience share during the Spring 2017 Nielsen Audio ratings to a 5.6 share in the Spring 2018 ratings. On December 26, 2018, KTPK returned to its "Country 106.9" classic country format.Country 106.9 Returns and You've Got to Hear It Now
/ref>

Country Legends 106.9 ''Miracle Marathon for Kids Radiothon (2006-2015)''

From 2006 until 2015, KTPK broadcast an annual radiothon for the

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: Réseau Enfants-Santé (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of 10 million children each ...

(CMN) at St. Francis Health Center in

. The radiothon took place each year during a week in August, from 6AM to 6PM. While on air, they not only raised money for the sick and injured children, but tell stories, as well. 2009 was a record-breaking year for the fundraiser, as they raised a record breaker $105,205.59, up from 2008, where they raised just over $102,000.From Topeka Capital Journal
/ref> Subsequently, they raised amounts between $90,000 and $102,000. Following the 2015 CMN radiothon, officials from Children's Miracle Network informed the station it would be moving its local radiothon to the Cumulus Media Group of stations in Topeka. After being purchased by Alpha Media USA, KTPK became part of the Alpha Media Topeka group of stations, becoming a sister station to WIBW 580 and WIBW-FM ("The Big 94.5 Country"). WIBW-FM had been doing their own annual radiothons for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and in March 2016, KTPK teamed up with them for the event.

Previous logos

References

External links

* * {{Alpha Media TPK Radio stations established in 1974 Alpha Media radio stations