KKDM

KKDM
City Des Moines, Iowa
Broadcast area Greater Des Moines
Branding 107.5 KISS FM
Slogan All The Hits
Frequency 107.5 MHz (also on HD Radio)
107.5-2 FM KKDM-HD2 Hip hop The Heat (HD Radio)
107.5-3 FM KKDM-HD3 Christian Contemporary K-Love (HD Radio)
Translator(s) 95.3 K237GC (Des Moines, relays HD3)
First air date 1995
Format Top 40 (CHR)
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 220 meters
Class C1
Facility ID 42108
Former callsigns KACX (6/1993-7/1993, CP)
Owner iHeartMedia, Inc.
(Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc.)
Webcast Listen Live
Website 1075kissfm.com

KKDM (107.5 FM, "107.5 KISS FM or Kiss 1075") is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station based in Des Moines, Iowa. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc..

History

KKDM was established by local businessman Rich Eychaner as Midwest Radio, Inc.. Rich, better known in Des Moines as owner of a local video store and politician, chain spent several years in a bitter fight to win the 107.5 frequency with the FCC. When as the owner Rich brought longtime local talent J. Michael 'Mac' McKoy on as GM and the two of them set out to build a station from scratch.

While searching for talent J. Michael McKoy stumbled upon Sophia John while she worked for 'The Planet' in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mac had been driving through Omaha and heard Sophia's while she was on the air. After several calls Mac finally convinced Sophia into coming to Des Moines for an interview. So Sophia went to Des Moines to interview with the Rich and Mac but to be safe she brought along her friend Marc Lee Rahn. In a matter of 24 hours Rich and Mac went to having no employees to having two employees.

With the help of Sophia John, as Program Manager, Liz Janik came on board as a radio consultant to help start up the new radio station in Des Moines, IA.

The original staff included:
J. Michael McKoy - General Manager, Morning OnAir Talent
Sophia John - Program Manager, Late Afternoon OnAir Talent
Marc Lee Rahn aka 'Skyy' - Digital Production Director, Morning OnAir Talent Side Kick
Richard Whitney aka 'Bobby Hacker' - Evening OnAir Talent
Niccole 'Nicci' Ervin - OnAir Talent
Lee 'Konman' Konfrst - OnAir Talent
Stu Stevens - Overnight OnAir Talent
Eldon (Need last name) - Engineer

Staff added as the station grew.

Amy Sweet - Morning OnAir Talent
Danny Bishop - OnAir Talent

When KKDM originally signed on the air for the first time it broadcast from its equipment tower room in the middle of a 'corn' field with roughly 50 songs ranging from country to dance and a few station imaging tags using a Scott Studio computer and 2GB hard drive. The original 50 songs and imaging tags had nothing to do with what the format would actually become but the goal was to generate interest and confusion amongst the listeners and local radio stations while the new studio was being completed. An additional number of new tags and songs where added prior to the station going live from the studio.

When the station finally flipped the switch and signed on the air from its studios it became known as "Iowa's New Rock Alternative 107 DOT 5". The format shifted from the original 50 songs that had been playing in a random loop to dance, pop and alternative rock format. The original 50,000 watt signal soon increased to 100,000 watts in the spring of 1995. By the fall of that year, KKDM became popularly known as "The Dot" and eventually changed its moniker to "107 DOT 5".

The original voice for KKDM was Leon Flood, production director for an Omaha based radio station group. The original imaging for the initial 50 song launch was created by Marc Lee Rahn aka Skyy at 'The Planet' studios in Lincoln, NE.

KKDM set several first in Iowa. KKDM was the first fully digital automated Scott Studio Radio System in the Des Moines area. KKDM was also the first radio station in Iowa to utilize Real Audio software to broadcast itself live on the internet 24/7.

Eventually Rich Eychanner sold Midwest Radio Inc to Clear Channel Communications, Inc. in July, 1999, at which time the station was moved from its studios at 1563 N.E. 53rd Ave. to 1801 Grand Ave.

Clear Channel swapped KKDM's modern rock format and programming with new sister station KCCQ (which had recently moved to a new frequency and increased power) in exchange for that station's CHR format. KKDM was rebranded as "Kiss 1075", then later "1075 KISS FM" which still exists today.

HD Radio subchannels

KKDM operates two HD Radio subchannels on 107.5 - 2 (The Heat) and 107.5 - 3 (K-Love Christian radio) respectively.

External links

Coordinates: 41°38′38″N 93°17′20″W / 41.644°N 93.289°W / 41.644; -93.289

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.