KMOM (Minnesota)

Last updated
KMOM
Frequency 1070 kHz
Ownership
OwnerPrime Factors Communications, Inc.
History
First air date
March 9, 1982 (1982-03-09)
Last air date
1995 (1995)
Technical information
Facility ID 53518
Class B
Power
  • 10,000 watts (day)
  • 2,500 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
 45°16′53″N93°50′21″W / 45.28139°N 93.83917°W / 45.28139; -93.83917

KMOM (1070 AM) was a radio station in Monticello, Minnesota, United States, that operated between 1982 and 1995. The station operated on a frequency of 1070 kHz with a daytime power of 10,000 watts. [1] The station was owned and operated by Prime Factors Communications, Inc., with Gregory C. Davis serving as the general manager. Its studio was located at the intersection of County Road 117 and County Road 106 in Monticello. [2]

Contents

History

The station's construction permit was originally granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1981. [3] The station went on the air on March 9, 1982, seeking to fill what its founding owners believed was an unmet need for local radio in the area between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. It offered an adult contemporary format with local information and Twin Cities traffic for commuters, broadcasting with 10,000 watts during the day and 2,500 at night. [4] KMOM was a near-immediate financial failure. Mike Diem, who had been the manager when KMOM began in March, was fired in November by station president Ross Eggestein over objecting to planned cutbacks. One source told the St. Cloud Daily Times that the station was losing $10,000 a month. [5] In December, KMOM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [6] While owner Tri-County Radio sought a buyer, the federal trustee assigned to the case filed to convert the filing to a Chapter 7 liquidation. [7] A sale was agreed to a group of Twin Cities investors, which stockholders threatened to block. People close to the station Eggestein's lack of experience in broadcasting and a costly delay in building the facility. [8]

In November 1983, an investor group led by Dave Lund and including professional hockey player Jim Korn acquired KMOM for $515,000. [9] It switched to a country music format. Financial problems and a lack of sufficient advertising revenue put it off the air on June 20, 1988. [10] Greg Davis of Plymouth bought KMOM through his company, Prime Factors Communications, and returned it to the air later that year. [11] [12] It was no longer on the air by February 1993. [13] It briefly went back on the air later that year [14] but left the air again in 1995. Its broadcast license was deleted by the FCC the next year for being silent for more than a year. [15]

References

  1. ↑ Jon Ellis (October 25, 2025). "Voices of the Dead: Sounds of Now-Deleted AM/FM Stations". Upper Midwest Broadcasting.
  2. ↑ Historical Scrapbook and Station Directory (PDF). Minnesota Broadcasters Association. 1990. p. 18. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Radio History Cards Without Facility ID Numbers". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  4. ↑ Rutchick, Joel (1982-03-13). "KMOM seeks to fill vacuum". St. Cloud Daily Times. pp. 1A, 3A . Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  5. ↑ "Off the air: Radio personality Diem quits job over staff cuts". St. Cloud Daily Times. 1982-12-11. p. 1B. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  6. ↑ Rutchick, Joel (1983-01-27). "Monticello station files bankruptcy". St. Cloud Daily Times. pp. 1C, 2C . Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  7. ↑ Rutchick, Joel (1983-06-15). "Radio station seeks buyer before court puts it under". St. Cloud Daily Times. pp. 1C. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  8. ↑ Rutchick, Joel (1983-09-23). "Did radio station's owner try for too much, too soon?". St. Cloud Daily Times. pp. 1A, 6A . Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  9. ↑ Lang, Sylvia (1983-11-12). "Growth attracts buyers for money-troubled station". St. Cloud Times. pp. 11B. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  10. ↑ "Monticello: Financial woes sink country music station". St. Cloud Times. 1988-06-22. p. 1C. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  11. ↑ "Monticello: KMOM to air again". St. Cloud Times. 1988-08-28. p. 2B. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  12. ↑ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. August 29, 1988. p. 63. ProQuest   1016920230.
  13. ↑ Denys, Scott O. (1993-02-06). "AM radio 'curfew' hobbles stations". Star Tribune. pp. 15A. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  14. ↑ Elving, Bruce (July 1993). "FMedia" (PDF). FMedia Publications. p. 5.
  15. ↑ "Washington This Week" (PDF). M Street Journal. August 28, 1996. p. 7.
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