KFAR is a commercial

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 ...

programming news/

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

, United States, broadcasting on 660 AM. Founded in 1939 by industrialist

Austin E. Lathrop Austin Eugene "Cap" Lathrop (October 5, 1865July 26, 1950) was an American politician, industrialist, and outspoken opponent of Alaskan statehood. He has been called "Alaska's first home-grown millionaire." Early life "Cap" Lathrop was born in 18 ...

, KFAR is the oldest radio station in Fairbanks and one of the oldest in Alaska. KFAR airs

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

throughout the day and carries national radio programs through

Compass Media Networks Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and ma ...

, Genesis Communications Network,

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...

and Westwood One, among others. The station previously held longtime affiliations with the ABC Radio Network,

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 ...

and the previous incarnation of Westwood One. Since adopting the news/talk format during the 1980s, KFAR has had a long-standing commitment to airing locally produced talk radio programming; the station turned down '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'' when it was originally offered in favor of local programming. KFAR is currently the only news/talk station in Fairbanks to produce local call-in talk shows. Their primary competitor, KFBX, airs locally produced news and public affairs programming (on weekday morning drive and midday, and on Sunday morning, respectively), but no local talk shows. To drive home this distinction, KFAR makes heavy use of the slogan ''Local Talk Radio''. ''Problem Corner'' (which has aired on the station since 1961), patriots lament show and ''The Michael Dukes Show'' comprise a total of 4 hours of airtime each weekday. KFAR has also aired a succession of local talk shows on Saturday mornings.

History

KFAR was founded in 1939 by

. The station marked his entry into broadcasting, as Lathrop continued to diversify and expand his business empire throughout the

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

. Lathrop hired engineer Stanton Bennett to build the station. Bennett, in turn, recommended that Lathrop hire a young engineer he worked with in Oregon named

Augie Hiebert August Gottlob Hiebert (December 4, 1916 – September 13, 2007) was an American television executive. Hiebert is credited with building Alaska's first television station, KTVA in Anchorage in 1953. He is often called the "father of Alaskan te ...

, who would later become influential in starting Lathrop's second radio station, KENI. For most of the station's early existence, its studio was in the Lathrop Building in downtown Fairbanks. The station shared space in the building with other Lathrop enterprises, such as the '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner''. Its transmitter was on Farmers Loop Road, northeast of the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stud ...

, on a tract of land owned by Lathrop (around which the Fairbanks Golf and Country Club was later built). On the radio dial, it was originally on 610 kHz and moved to 660 kHz in 1956. Following Lathrop's death in 1950, his numerous businesses continued to be run by his business associates under the corporate umbrella of The Lathrop Company, with the radio stations under subsidiary Midnight Sun Broadcasting Company. One of those associates, Alvin O. "Al" Bramstedt, purchased the Lathrop broadcasting holdings in 1960. Changing the name slightly to Midnight Sun Broadcasters, Bramstedt and his company operated the station throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Midnight Sun also operated sister station KFAR television on channel 2, with much cooperation and intermingling of on-air personnel evident. Bramstedt retired and sold off his holdings in the early 1980s. The partnership of Bill Walley, Edward A. Merdes and Louis Frank Delong, doing business as Borealis Broadcasters, purchased the station. They would also launch

KWLF KWLF (98.1 FM, "Wolf 98.1") is a commercial radio station in Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interio ...

during this time period. The station was later owned by

New Northwest Broadcasters New Northwest Broadcasters, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, operated 38 radio stations in seven cities in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Prior to the company's bankruptcy, its stations were located in Alaska ( Anchorage and Fairbanks), M ...

, which purchased Borealis. It is currently owned by Rob Ingstad, through licensee Rob Ingstad Licenses, LLC, and goes by the branding of ''The Radio Station''. Perry Walley, the company's general manager, is the son of Bill Walley and grew up around the station, as did his brother Terry, who is the general manager of rival broadcaster Tanana Valley Television.

External links

FCC History Cards for KFAR

KFAR's Website
{{coord, 64, 48, 29, N, 147, 29, 34, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title 1939 establishments in Alaska News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1939 FAR