KARS-FM

Last updated

KARS-FM
Broadcast area Cheyenne, Wyoming
Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley
Frequency 102.9 MHz
BrandingPower 102.9
Programming
Format Rhythmic Top 40
Affiliations Compass Media Networks
Ownership
OwnerThe Fort Collins/Lafayette Divestiture Trust
Operator Townsquare Media
KCGY, KOWB, KKPL, KMAX, KTRR and KUAD
History
First air date
1974 (as KIOZ)
Former call signs
KIOZ (1974–1984)
KRQU (1984–2002)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 10334
Class C1
ERP 83,000 watts
HAAT 248 meters (814 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 40°52′36.9″N105°41′46″W / 40.876917°N 105.69611°W / 40.876917; -105.69611 (NAD83)
Repeater 102.9 KARS-FM1 (Fort Collins, Colorado)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website power1029noco.com

KARS-FM (102.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed for Laramie, Wyoming and broadcasting to the Cheyenne, Wyoming and Fort Collins-Greeley, Colorado areas. KARS-FM airs a Rhythmic Top 40 music format branded as "Power 102.9". The station is currently owned by a divestiture trust of Townsquare Media. [2] [3] The facility first signed on in 1974. KARS broadcasts from Black Mountain just over the Colorado border, south of Laramie and northwest of Fort Collins.

Contents

The station has an FM booster, KARS-FM1, licensed for Fort Collins, Colorado on 102.9 MHz; the booster has been licensed since September 2007. [4]

History

Logo for the previous format in the late 2000s. KARS-FM logo.jpg
Logo for the previous format in the late 2000s.

The station's original call sign was KIOZ, adopted when it signed on in 1974. Industry music publications from the mid-to-late 1970s noted the station for its reporting on artists distributed by the WEA (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic) group of labels, strongly suggesting that KIOZ broadcast a Rock or Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) format during this decade. [5]

The station changed its call sign to KRQU on March 12, 1984. During the early 1990s, KRQU ran a Modern Rock format, branding itself as "Power 103" and sometimes "New Rock U". [6] Country Format: By November 1992, trade publications confirmed the station was broadcasting a Country format on 102.9 MHz, suggesting a format change from its earlier Modern Rock identity. [7] .

The station changed its call sign to KARS on March 25, 2002. Ownership of the facility was transferred from Pacific Broadcasting of Wyoming, Inc. to a subsequent buyer during a sale process that covered the AM/FM combination in Laramie in the early 2000s. [8] . The station was later acquired by Townsquare Media in 2003. [9]

In December 2008, the station dropped the oldies format and began simulcasting KMAX-FM 94.3's classic hits format.

On March 12, 2009, The station settled into a long-running Classic Rock format, branded as "Rock 102.9". On September 5, 2019, KARS-FM flipped to a Rhythmic Top 40 format, re-adopting the "Power 102.9" brand. The move was notable for bringing the format to the state of Wyoming for the first time. [10]


References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KARS-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "KARS-FM Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ "FMedial: WY Laramie-Cheyenne KRQU 102.9 Power 103" (PDF). World Radio History. 1993. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Radio Locator Information on KARS-FM-1". Radio-Locator. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Walrus: KIOZ/Laramie, Wyoming - WEA" (PDF). World Radio History. September 4, 1978. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  6. ↑ "FMedial: WY Laramie-Cheyenne KRQU 102.9 Power 103" (PDF). World Radio History. 1993. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Broadcasting: KRQU has country format on 102.9 mhz with 100 kw" (PDF). World Radio History. November 9, 1992. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  8. ↑ "D CASTING/CABlE: Changing Hands: KLDI(AM)- KRQU(FM) Laramie" (PDF). World Radio History. January 1, 2001. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  9. ↑ "KARS-FM 2025 Company Profile: Valuation, Investors, Acquisition". PitchBook. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  10. ↑ Venta, Lance (September 6, 2019). "Townsquare Brings Hip-Hop Power 102.9 To Fort Collins". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 16, 2025.


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