KYES (1180 AM) is an American

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 to serve the community of

Rockville, Minnesota Rockville is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,448 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Rockville was platted in 1856, and named for granite rock forma ...

. The station is owned by Gabriel Media. The station's transmitter is located near

Kimball, Minnesota Kimball is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 799 at the 2020 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Kimball has been in operation since 1887. The ci ...

, off MN 15. It can be heard throughout most of central Minnesota throughout the day with fringe coverage in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

. Station founder Andy Hilger began his radio career in 1958 as a disc jockey for

WJON WJON (1240 AM kHz) is a radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota airing a News/Talk format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. Its main competitors are Leighton Broadcasting's KNSI of St. Cloud and WCCO and KTLK of Minneapolis. The station ...

. Hilger later became owner and manager of WJON and three other stations in

Central Minnesota Central Minnesota is the central part of the state of Minnesota. No definitive boundaries of the region exist, but most definitions would include the land north of Interstate 94, east of U.S. Highway 59, south of U.S. Highway 2, and west of U.S ...

. Due to budgetary constraints, KYES shares

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

space with KKJM ("Spirit 92.9") in

Sauk Rapids, Minnesota Sauk Rapids is a city in Benton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,862 at the 2020 census and is 13,896 according to 2021 census estimates, about a third of Benton County's population. It is on a set of rapids on the Missi ...

—a radio station Hilger had donated to the

Diocese of St. Cloud The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Clodoaldi) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota, United States. This diocese covers Benton, Douglas, Grant, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Sherb ...

in 2000.

Programming

KYES broadcasts a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format to the greater

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

, area. Programming includes local news, weather and sports, plus Catholic-oriented

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

s from

Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. R ...

History

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 ...

from 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 ...

on January 25,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. In March 2006, permit holder D&E Communications applied to the FCC for permission to transfer the permit to Edward De La Hunt, Sr., of

De La Hunt Broadcasting De La Hunt Broadcasting is a small market radio broadcasting company based in Park Rapids, Minnesota. It is owned by Ed and Carol De La Hunt and was founded in 1962. The corporate offices and Park Rapids studios are located on the east side of Park ...

. The transfer was approved by the FCC on August 21, 2006, and the transaction was consummated the same day. In January 2007, Edward De La Hunt, Sr., reached an agreement to transfer the permit to the Throw Fire Project, a Sauk Rapids-based nonprofit organization. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 13, 2007, and the transaction was consummated on May 31, 2007. The still-under construction station was assigned the KYES

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 ...

by the FCC on June 14, 2007. KYES applied for its license to cover from the FCC on May 27, 2009. The FCC formally accepted the application for filing on July 1, 2009. The station began operating under

program test authority {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) In broadcasting, program test authority (PTA) is an authorization to conduct on-air testing of broadcast station facilities authorized to be built under a construction permit. Once this testi ...

granted by the FCC on July 10, 2009. The "official" launch date for KYES was held August 1, 2009. KYES formally received its

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 ...

from the FCC on March 11, 2010. KYES was sold by the Throw Fire Project to Gabriel Media. The sale was consummated on September 13, 2012, for consideration of $500,000.

References

External links

KYES official website
{{Religious Radio Stations in Minnesota Radio stations in St. Cloud, Minnesota Catholic radio stations Talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2009 Christian radio stations in Minnesota