CHKS-FM is a Canadian

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

, which broadcasts at 106.3 FM in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

, Ontario. The station broadcasts a classic hits format with the brand name ''Cool 106.3''. In addition to Sarnia, it also serves

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

. CHKS-FM broadcasts in HD.

Range

CHKS-FM can be heard in parts of Eastern Michigan, as far west as

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

. The station conflicts with

WGER WGER (106.3 FM broadcasting, FM, branded "106.3 The Core") is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan, broadcasting a classic alternative format. The station broadcasts from a transmitter southeast of Interstate 675 (Michigan), I-675 Exit 6 ...

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...

, in Genesee and Lapeer Counties, though those with directional antennas can tune either station in these areas. The 106.3 FM signal has been heard as far south as

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

; however, reception can be difficult due to FM translator W292DK in Oak Park which is also on 106.3 FM. This situation tends to cause interference in southern St. Clair County, as well as in

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county on the eastern shore of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, bordering Detroit to the north and containing many of its northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Mt. Clemens, a ...

. In Ontario, interference seems minimal.

History

Dancy Broadcasting launched the station in 1969, as an AM station with the callsign CKJD and a contemporary MOR format. The station's original AM frequency was 1250 AM.

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

acquired it in 1972, and moved to 1110 AM in 1977. In 1981, Rogers also launched an FM sister station, CJFI. CKJD and CJFI were sold to

Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and H ...

subsidiary Blue Water Broadcasting in 1987. The following year, CKJD adopted a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

format with the new call sign CKTY. When Rogers acquired Maclean-Hunter in 1994, the Blue Water stations were transferred to

Blackburn Radio Blackburn Radio, Inc. is a Canadian radio broadcasting group, which owns several radio stations in Southwestern Ontario. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the company is owned by 2061302 Ontario Limited, which is majority owned by Cogent Investmen ...

. Blackburn converted the station to FM in 1999,Decision CRTC 99-19
Conversion of AM radio station CKTY to FM, ''CRTC'', January 21, 1999 and gave the station its current call sign, CHKS-FM and changed to an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format under the moniker ''K106.3, Sarnia's Best Rock''. On July 1, 2020 at 1:06 pm, CHKS ended its

format with playing "

Fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

" by

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

repeatedly from 12:00 p.m. until 1:06 p.m. The first song played on the new

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

-oriented classic hits-based ''Cool 106.3'' was " Electric Avenue" by

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese in the United Kingdom, Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound and socially conscious lyrics; his music has blended elements of p ...

References

External links

Cool 106.3CHKS-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* Hks Hks Hks Radio stations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Ontario {{Ontario-radio-station-stub