KMRK-FM (96.1 FM, "MY Country 96.1") 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 ...

that serves the

Midland–Odessa metropolitan area Midland–Odessa is a metropolitan area located in West Texas approximately half-way between El Paso, Texas, El Paso and Fort Worth, Texas. This combined statistical area (CSA) is made up of two metropolitan statistical areas (the Midland, Texas m ...

with

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. The station is owned by ICA Communications, who acquired this station and its sister stations for $3 million in 2010 from

Gap Broadcasting Gap Broadcasting Group was a group of companies that owned around 116 broadcast stations (including 1 low-power television station and 5 low-power stations) in 23 radio markets in northwestern and central southern United States in the late 2000s. ...

. Gap had acquired the many stations, including this one, from

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 ...

in 2007. One of the first announcements was that KMRK would broadcast the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whic ...

' entire 2010 season. Its studios are located at the ICA Business Plaza on East Eighth Street in Odessa, just east of downtown, and its transmitter is located in

Gardendale, Texas Gardendale is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Ector County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,574 at the 2010 census, up from 1,197 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Odessa, Texas, Metropolitan Statistica ...

History

This station was a

Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...

outlet from 1993 until it flipped to

Rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

in 2000 as "WiLD 96.1." On July 31, 2008, KMRK flipped to Country and adopted the moniker "My 96.1 Country."

References

External links

KMRK-FM official website
* * * MRK-FM Radio stations established in 1991 {{Texas-radio-station-stub