KQRS
Encyclopedia
KQRS-FM is one of the most popular radio station
s in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota
, and primarily broadcasts a classic rock
music format. The call letters stand for "Quality Radio Station."
The station is owned by Cumulus Media
, which owns other outlets in the area, including "93X" (KXXR
) (93.7 FM), and "Love 105
" (105.1, 105.3 and 105.7 FM). Its main transmitter is located on the KMSP-TV tower
in Shoreview, Minnesota
, with backup facilities atop the IDS Center
in downtown Minneapolis
.
. KEVE-AM's history predates the FM by 14 years; it launched in May, 1948 and was owned by Family Broadcasting until mid-1956
and was known until at least then as KEYD, co-owned with KEYD-TV 9 (now KMSP-TV
and launched by Family Broadcasting in January, 1955). The KEYD Radio studios were located in downtown Minneapolis on 9th Street off of Hennepin Avenue practically next to the Orpheum Theater (see 1953 photo link below). Calls were changed to KADM to complement its AM sister (as in "Adam and Eve") in October 1963. On December 1, 1964, the call letters for both radio stations became KQRS and the two stations changed from country music
to a classical music
format. The KEVE-AM studios had, by 1957, moved to its transmitter site in Golden Valley at 917 Lilac Drive, set back from Minnesota State Highway 100. This location was the first studio and transmitter site for the station.
The KQRS call sign stayed with the AM until 1982 when it switched to an oldies
format as KGLD before returning to the simulcast and the KQRS calls less than two years later. In 1996 the AM was again split from the FM to become one of the first affiliates of Radio Disney
, a format targeting children (see KDIZ
). Both stations were owned by Disney
at the time. In early 2001 KQRS and KDIZ (along with sister stations 93X and 105.1/105.3/105.7) moved to studios and offices at 2000 Elm Street SE in Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota campus.
Initially, KQRS programmed a younger-leaning beautiful music
/soft rock
format. In addition to this format, Joe Pyne's
talk radio
show was carried. In the summer of 1968
, KQRS started experimenting with freeform
progressive rock
in the late night hours. This became popular, and by the end of the year this became the primary format.
By 1977
, the freeform rock would give way to a tightly programmed rock approach, courtesy of radio consultants Burkhart/Abrams and their "Superstars" format, which was essentially just the hits from AOR. This approach continued into 1986
, with respectable, if not spectacular ratings, when KQRS signed a new consultant, Jacobs Media and evolved into its present day classic rock
-leaning approach. That, coupled with its massively popular morning show, elevated KQRS to the top of the ratings.
KQRS has the distinction of unseating legendary area broadcaster WCCO (830 AM) from being the most-listend-to station in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market (12+), an achievement which WCCO had held unchallenged for decades. The KQ92 Morning Show hosted by Tom Barnard
was a major element in KQ's ascendance to the top spot, along with shifting market demographics. Barnard and the KQ Morning Show also were successful in holding the top rating spot when Howard Stern
made his debut on the Twin Cities airwaves in 1997
. Stern lasted only until mid-1999
in Minneapolis as his ratings brought him to the number two position in morning drive time, but the station that carried the show, WRQC
, had poor ratings during the rest of the day, leading to the dropping of Stern and a format change.
Rival KXXR, then known as "93X", was purchased by then-owners Capital Cities
-ABC
in the Spring of 1994
and became an alternative rock
station (KEGE, "The Edge"). It primarily competed with the growing "REV 105
," though KQRS' owners purchased the three signals comprising it in 1997
. The stations went through several incarnations, including heavy metal
, Urban AC/"jammin' oldies" and for the majority of the time, alternative rock, prior to the current Soft AC/oldies
format of "Love 105" which made its debut on May 8, 2007
.
With the three formats, Disney
initially created what many in the industry refer to as the "wall of rock". It's easy to say that Disney dominated rock music in the Twin Cities, and used 93X and Drive 105/Zone 105 as 'flankers' to ward off competitors trying to knock off the company's cash cow KQRS.
KQRS has been programmed by award-winning programming veteran (and former DJ) David Hamilton, for over 25 years. His airstaff has remained unusually consistent for years as well. Tom Barnard
and Terri Pawelk ("Traen/Trainy") host the long-running morning show (with others such as Pioneer Press sports columnist Bob Sansevere, Mike "Stretch" Gelfand, Phillip Wise, Bryce, Brian Zepp, and KMSP-TV
news personality Jeff Passolt), Wally Walker hosts middays; Lisa Miller hosts afternoon drive and is the imaging voice of the station; Ray Erick hosts evenings.
In May 2005
, KQRS began offering podcast
s of the morning show through the station's website
.
On June 1, 2007
, Citadel Broadcasting
closed on its purchase of ABC Radio, acquiring KQRS 92.5. KDIZ, the former KQRS 1440, was retained by Disney. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
-themed movie Jingle All the Way
, the character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
calls KQRS during a contest in an effort to win a rare toy doll
for his child. He gets through and answers the question correctly but finds out that he only won a gift certificate.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and primarily broadcasts a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
music format. The call letters stand for "Quality Radio Station."
The station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
, which owns other outlets in the area, including "93X" (KXXR
KXXR
KXXR is an active rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM and the three station trimulcast known as "Love 105"...
) (93.7 FM), and "Love 105
WGVX
WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ is a trimulcast serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR....
" (105.1, 105.3 and 105.7 FM). Its main transmitter is located on the KMSP-TV tower
KMSP Tower
KMSP TV Tower is a 446.8 metre high guy-wired aerial mast for the transmission of FM radio and television programs in Shoreview, Minnesota at...
in Shoreview, Minnesota
Shoreview, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there are 25,377 people, Males: 12,303 , Females: 13,074 , 9,965 households, and 7,021 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,315.9 people per square mile . There are 10,127 housing units at an average density of 919.2 per square mile...
, with backup facilities atop the IDS Center
IDS Center
The IDS Center is the tallest building in the state of Minnesota at 792 feet . Opened in 1974 as the IDS Centre, it stood 775 feet 6 inches , though a 16-foot garage for window washing equipment was added at a later date...
in downtown Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
.
History
The original call letters were KEVE-FM and the station was co-owned with sister AM station KEVE-AMKDIZ
KDIZ is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by The Walt Disney Company, and airs the Radio Disney radio network.-History:...
. KEVE-AM's history predates the FM by 14 years; it launched in May, 1948 and was owned by Family Broadcasting until mid-1956
1956 in radio
The year 1956 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*February 13 - NBC and Westinghouse Broadcasting consummate a station ownership trade which saw NBC attaining owned-and-operated AM and TV stations in Philadelphia , and Westinghouse receiving NBC's AM, FM...
and was known until at least then as KEYD, co-owned with KEYD-TV 9 (now KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
and launched by Family Broadcasting in January, 1955). The KEYD Radio studios were located in downtown Minneapolis on 9th Street off of Hennepin Avenue practically next to the Orpheum Theater (see 1953 photo link below). Calls were changed to KADM to complement its AM sister (as in "Adam and Eve") in October 1963. On December 1, 1964, the call letters for both radio stations became KQRS and the two stations changed from country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
to a classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
format. The KEVE-AM studios had, by 1957, moved to its transmitter site in Golden Valley at 917 Lilac Drive, set back from Minnesota State Highway 100. This location was the first studio and transmitter site for the station.
The KQRS call sign stayed with the AM until 1982 when it switched to an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format as KGLD before returning to the simulcast and the KQRS calls less than two years later. In 1996 the AM was again split from the FM to become one of the first affiliates of Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...
, a format targeting children (see KDIZ
KDIZ
KDIZ is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by The Walt Disney Company, and airs the Radio Disney radio network.-History:...
). Both stations were owned by Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
at the time. In early 2001 KQRS and KDIZ (along with sister stations 93X and 105.1/105.3/105.7) moved to studios and offices at 2000 Elm Street SE in Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota campus.
Initially, KQRS programmed a younger-leaning beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
/soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
format. In addition to this format, Joe Pyne's
Joe Pyne
Joe Pyne was an American radio and television talk show host, who pioneered the confrontational style in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members...
talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
show was carried. In the summer of 1968
1968 in radio
The year 1968 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:* 1 February: WABX Detroit drops classical music to air progressive rock/freeform full-time....
, KQRS started experimenting with freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
progressive rock
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
in the late night hours. This became popular, and by the end of the year this became the primary format.
By 1977
1977 in radio
In the year 1977, significant events in radio broadcasting included the President of the United States participating in a call-in radio program.-Events:*KSTP-FM in St...
, the freeform rock would give way to a tightly programmed rock approach, courtesy of radio consultants Burkhart/Abrams and their "Superstars" format, which was essentially just the hits from AOR. This approach continued into 1986
1986 in radio
The year 1986 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*January 18 – The syndicated "American Country Countdown" expands from three to four hours. Much like "American Top 40" had more than seven years earlier, several new features are added, including a weekly recap of three...
, with respectable, if not spectacular ratings, when KQRS signed a new consultant, Jacobs Media and evolved into its present day classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
-leaning approach. That, coupled with its massively popular morning show, elevated KQRS to the top of the ratings.
KQRS has the distinction of unseating legendary area broadcaster WCCO (830 AM) from being the most-listend-to station in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market (12+), an achievement which WCCO had held unchallenged for decades. The KQ92 Morning Show hosted by Tom Barnard
Tom Barnard
Thomas 'Tom' Barnard is an American talk radio host and former voice-over talent. He is currently the host of The KQ92 Morning Show broadcast in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.-Personal:...
was a major element in KQ's ascendance to the top spot, along with shifting market demographics. Barnard and the KQ Morning Show also were successful in holding the top rating spot when Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
made his debut on the Twin Cities airwaves in 1997
1997 in radio
The year 1997 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*February 15 - After 5 years of Alternative Rock, WDRE flips into Rhythmic AC as Philly 103.9, the station, began to play Pearl Jam's Alive while crowding the live stage....
. Stern lasted only until mid-1999
1999 in radio
The year 1999 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 1 - 102.1 The Zone stopped played at 6AM and 102.1 FM played a stunt of waves and announcement voice over of our newest radio station....
in Minneapolis as his ratings brought him to the number two position in morning drive time, but the station that carried the show, WRQC
KTLK-FM
KFXN-FM 100.3 —branded 100.3 FM KFAN: The Fan—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb of Shoreview on...
, had poor ratings during the rest of the day, leading to the dropping of Stern and a format change.
Rival KXXR, then known as "93X", was purchased by then-owners Capital Cities
Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities redirects here. For the article about the seat of a government, see Capital .Capital Cities Communications was an American media company best known for its surprise purchase of the much larger American Broadcasting Company in 1985...
-ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the Spring of 1994
1994 in radio
The year 1994 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 11 - The Irish government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the Provisional Irish Republican Army and its political arm Sinn Féin....
and became an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station (KEGE, "The Edge"). It primarily competed with the growing "REV 105
WGVX
WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ is a trimulcast serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR....
," though KQRS' owners purchased the three signals comprising it in 1997
1997 in radio
The year 1997 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*February 15 - After 5 years of Alternative Rock, WDRE flips into Rhythmic AC as Philly 103.9, the station, began to play Pearl Jam's Alive while crowding the live stage....
. The stations went through several incarnations, including heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, Urban AC/"jammin' oldies" and for the majority of the time, alternative rock, prior to the current Soft AC/oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format of "Love 105" which made its debut on May 8, 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
.
With the three formats, Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
initially created what many in the industry refer to as the "wall of rock". It's easy to say that Disney dominated rock music in the Twin Cities, and used 93X and Drive 105/Zone 105 as 'flankers' to ward off competitors trying to knock off the company's cash cow KQRS.
KQRS has been programmed by award-winning programming veteran (and former DJ) David Hamilton, for over 25 years. His airstaff has remained unusually consistent for years as well. Tom Barnard
Tom Barnard
Thomas 'Tom' Barnard is an American talk radio host and former voice-over talent. He is currently the host of The KQ92 Morning Show broadcast in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.-Personal:...
and Terri Pawelk ("Traen/Trainy") host the long-running morning show (with others such as Pioneer Press sports columnist Bob Sansevere, Mike "Stretch" Gelfand, Phillip Wise, Bryce, Brian Zepp, and KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
news personality Jeff Passolt), Wally Walker hosts middays; Lisa Miller hosts afternoon drive and is the imaging voice of the station; Ray Erick hosts evenings.
In May 2005
2005 in radio
The year 2005 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*April 29 - KFRC 610 AM in San Francisco, switches formats as a result of ownership change. KFRC becomes KEAR, the "Sound of the New Life", a listener-supported, gospel/religious only station. It had been previously KFRC from...
, KQRS began offering podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s of the morning show through the station's website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.
On June 1, 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
, Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
closed on its purchase of ABC Radio, acquiring KQRS 92.5. KDIZ, the former KQRS 1440, was retained by Disney. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
Pop culture
In the 1996 ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
-themed movie Jingle All the Way
Jingle All the Way
Jingle All the Way is a 1996 American family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, James Belushi and Robert Conrad...
, the character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
calls KQRS during a contest in an effort to win a rare toy doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
for his child. He gets through and answers the question correctly but finds out that he only won a gift certificate.
External links
- KQRS official site
- KQRS Streaming Audio
- Radiotapes.com Historic Minneapolis/St. Paul airchecks dating back to 1924 including airchecks of KQRS and other Twin Cities radio stations
- Rick Burnett's TwinCitiesRadioAirchecks.com Photos and historical recordings of KQ and other Twin Cities radio stations
- KEYD-AM exterior photo, 1953, from The Minnesota Historical Society