- KAWL
Infobox Radio station
name = KAWL
city = York,Nebraska
area =
branding =
slogan = "Classic Hits...KAWL!"
airdate =September 18 , 1954
frequency = 1370kHz
format = Oldies
power = 500watt s day 176watt s night
class = D
facility_id = 9932
coordinates = coord|40|50|30.00|N|97|35|16.00|W|region:US_type:city
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
owner = MWB Broadcasting LLC
licensee =
sister_stations = KTMX-FM
webcast =
website =
affiliations =KAWL (1370 AM) is a
radio station which signed on Sept. 18, 1954 within the city limits of York, NE. Brothers Mel and Tom Gleason were co-owners of Prairie States Broadcasting, Inc. This station remained in the Gleason family until its sale in 2005, one of the few longest-held family-owned broadcast properties ever in Nebraska.From 1991 through 2005 Prairie States Broadcasting had some noteworthy accomplishments:- increased KAWL FM's signal power from 3,000 to 25,000 watts- changed call sign from KAWL FM to KTMX FM..."Mix 105"- changed KAWL AM from a sleepy sort of country music-mish-mash to an upbeat, energetic oldies station featuring many local promotions, contests, sports and community events- began broadcast of a local morning talk show called "The Crossroads Cafe." Though the program originated from the KAWL studios, through "theatre of the mind" it sounded like the hosts were talking to people at a local "greasy spoon" coffee shop. It was common in the first couple of year for people to drive slowly by the radio station, sometimes stopping in to get directions to The Crossroads Cafe...or arguing with a staff member on the street that "the show really is done at a coffee shop. Right?"- built a 1,000' FM radio tower for KTMX; by placing the FM antenna bays at the top of this structure, KTMX FM's signal power output was "over-efficient" to the point of actually travelling the same distance as a 50,000 watt signal. Smart engineers!- York County did not, at the time, have Paramedic level of emergency medical service, so the management and staff of KAWL and KTMX FM held community-wide fundraisers and raised the money to send enough members of the local fire department to Creighton University, Omaha, NE to be fully trained as Paramedics.- Prairie States Broadcasting also purchased KMMJ AM and KLRB FM, Grand Island,NE. These two stations were sold to then owners of Grand Island's KRGI AM and FM.- KAWL had it's 15-minutes of international fame when management staged a legitimate "broadcast trivia contest," approved by the Federal Communications Commission and advertised across the country. The winning entry would win the right to apply for ownership of the KAWL AM radio license and, if approved by the FCC, receive all phsyical assets of KAWL AM. Lot's of fun was had by all, NBC's Today Show came to KAWL and interviewed General Manager, Tom Robson, and radio interviews were given to stations from New York to LA to London's BBC. Not enough entries were submitted, so ownership remained with Prairie States Broadcasting.- Also during this time, KAWL and KTMX Radio stations earned Best of Show, Gold and Silver Awards from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association for exemplary news coverage and commercial writing and production.- Former employees during this time went on to work at NBC Network Radio in Arlington, VA, Westwood One Sports, KMOX-St. Louis, and Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska radio and TV station management.
When ownership changed to MWB Broadcasting, it purchased a pair of radio stations that had set, met and exceeded a very high standard of professionalism and broadcast effort and excellence. Time will tell if that legacy is upheld.
References
External links
*AMQ|KAWL
*AML|KAWL
*AMARB|KAWL
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