Early years
The station first signed on the air on February 21, 1962, as KVEG, originally operating only during the dayime with just 500 watts of power. [6] It was affiliated with the CBS Radio Network and was later authorized to broadcast around the clock, increasing its daytime power to 5,000 watts. In 1977, the call sign was changed to KNUU. [7] For a period, it broadcast an all-news radio format before switching to a business talk format. During its business talk era, KNUU carried the syndicated program Imus in the Morning and featured local news, traffic, and weather. [8] In 2002, when the station was an all-news/business talk outlet licensed to Paradise, Nevada, its five-tower AM directional array was located just west of Rainbow Boulevard near Sunset. The site, however, was noted as a prime example of urban encroachment, as it had become surrounded by new housing developments and was in the path of the future Clark County 215 freeway expansion. This suburban sprawl put the fate of the tower site in question, with FCC records at the time suggesting that KNUU was likely preparing for a potential relocation of its towers further south. [9]
KNIH was previously owned by the Blue Star Media Group Inc. The company owns the Business Talk Radio Network and the Lifestyle Talk Radio Network. On November 30, 2012, AM 970 was sold for $950,000 to Immaculate Heart Radio (IHR Educational Broadcasting). [10] The call sign was officially changed to KNIH on December 14, 2012, and the station adopted its current Catholic religious format. [11]
The station's transmitter site was eventually moved to its current location in Enterprise, southwest of downtown Las Vegas. The station maintains its city of license as Paradise. This move happened in 2012.
