KRNA

KRNA
City Iowa City, Iowa
Broadcast area Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Branding 94.1 KRNA
Slogan "Classic Rock That Really Rocks"
Frequency 94.1 MHz
First air date October 4, 1974
Format Classic rock
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 299 meters (981 ft)
Class C1
Facility ID 35555
Transmitter coordinates 41°45′0″N 91°50′16″W / 41.75000°N 91.83778°W / 41.75000; -91.83778Coordinates: 41°45′0″N 91°50′16″W / 41.75000°N 91.83778°W / 41.75000; -91.83778
Owner Townsquare Media
(Townsquare Media Cedar Rapids License, LLC)
Sister stations KDAT, KHAK, KRQN
Webcast Listen Live
Website krna.com

KRNA is a radio station licensed to Iowa City, Iowa, with studios in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The transmitter for the station is located west of Oxford, Iowa. The station currently has a Classic rock format. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media.[1]

History

In 1971, a group of University of Iowa students formed a company known as Communicators Inc. of Iowa that aimed "to put together a radio station with a major market sound in what was basically a small-to-medium market."[2] At the time, FM radio stations in Iowa were primarily used for beautiful music formats or repeater signals for co-owned AM stations while popular music was played on AM stations. By 1974, Communicators Inc. of Iowa had been renamed KRNA, Inc., and the company was granted FCC approval to begin broadcasting. KRNA began broadcasting at 93.5 FM on October 4, 1974. (KRNA later moved to 93.9 FM in 1979 before moving to its present 94.1 FM at 9 a.m. on October 14, 1991.) By January 1975, Arbitron telephone surveys showed that nearly half of local radio listeners were turned into KRNA. As part of its "major market sound", KRNA pre-recorded its commercial announcements during a time when most commercials were read live on the air, and it also broadcast 24 hours a day while other radio stations signed off during the overnight hours for equipment maintenance.[3]

In 1994, KRNA purchased the former KQCR radio (102.9 FM) in Cedar Rapids to create the area's first radio duopoly. After reformatting KQCR as country music station KXMX, owners Rob Norton and Eliot Keller agreed to sell KRNA and KXMX to Capstar Broadcasting in 1998. While the KRNA sale was successful, Capstar terminated the agreement to buy KXMX.[4] (Norton and Keller kept KXMX, renaming it KZIA and changing the station's format to contemporary hits.) AMFM, Inc., acquired Capstar in 1999, and Clear Channel Communications acquired AMFM in 2000; however, KRNA was sold to Cumulus Media that year since Clear Channel already owned a group of stations in eastern Iowa.[5] Today, KRNA broadcasts from the APAC building in downtown Cedar Rapids with Cumulus-owned stations KHAK, KDAT, and KRQN.

In 2004, KRNA's format shifted from classic rock to active rock, adopting the nickname "Real Rock 94.1". That year, former KFMW morning DJ's Lou Waters and Scott Steele became the station's morning-drive disc jockeys. Lou and Scott were replaced by Davenport-based DJ's Greg Dwyer and Bill Michaels in January 2007. Dwyer and Michaels joined KRNA as the result of a non-compete clause that prevented them from working at any station in the Quad Cities market for six months after their contract with Clear Channel Communications expired at the end of 2006. Dwyer and Michaels, who had previously worked with WXLP and KCQQ radio in the Quad Cities, rejoined Cumulus-owned WXLP on July 13, 2007, but continued to simulcast their show on KRNA until late 2008. Clear Channel sued Dwyer and Michaels in February 2007, claiming that KRNA was audible in the Quad Cities area and the duo was actively promoting the show in the Quad Cities. On March 1, 2007, a Scott County judge ruled that Dwyer and Michaels did not violate the clause since Arbitron did not consider the Quad Cities part of KRNA's market area.[6]

For many years, KRNA was known for distributing free posters of the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team at live remote broadcasts. This tradition began in the late 1970s, and while the posters are now sold by the University of Iowa athletic department, they continue to be printed under the sponsorship of KZIA.[7]

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including KRNA, for $238 million. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by Oaktree Capital Management.[8][9] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.[10]

On September 5, 2014, KRNA adjusted its playlist to include more songs from the alternative rock genre.[11]

At 5 p.m. on August 12, 2016, KRNA adjusted its playlist to consist of songs from the classic rock genre.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "KRNA Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  2. ↑ Stein, Jeff (2004). Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications. p. 109. ISBN 0-9718323-1-5.
  3. ↑ Stein, 111.
  4. ↑ Ford, George C (1998-06-09). "KRNA buy OK'd after KXMX deal nixed". The Gazette. p. 8B.
  5. ↑ Muller, Lyle (2000-03-12). "Dial spins on radio station ownership". The Gazette. p. B1.
  6. ↑ Radio Online (2007-03-02). "Judge Rules for Dwyer & Michaels in Non-Compete Case".
  7. ↑ Stein, 54.
  8. ↑ "Official: Cumulus Buys Dial Global, Spins Some Stations To Townsquare; Peak Stations Sold To Townsquare, Fresno Spun To Cumulus". All Access. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Cumulus Makes Dial Global And Townsquare Deals Official". RadioInsight. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Cumulus-Townsquare-Peak Deal Closes". All Access. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ Iowa's Alternative is on the Air!
  12. ↑ 94.1 KRNA Brings Classic Rock That Rocks Back to The Corridor

External links

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