KSTY

Last updated

KSTY
Broadcast area Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colorado
Frequency 104.5 MHz
BrandingStar Country 104.5
Programming
Format Country
Affiliations Denver Broncos Radio Network
Ownership
OwnerRoyal Gorge Broadcasting, LLC
History
First air date
June 1, 1975 (1975-06-01)
Former call signs
  • KRLN-FM (1974–76, 1982–1994)
  • KSTX (1976–1982)
  • KKCS-FM (2005–2007)
Former frequencies
103.9 MHz (1975–1999)
Call sign meaning
"Star Country"
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 35551
Class C3
ERP 8,600 watts
HAAT 14 meters (46 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 38°18′54″N105°12′40″W / 38.31500°N 105.21111°W / 38.31500; -105.21111
Links
Public license information

KSTY (104.5 FM) is a country music formatted radio station licensed to Canon City, Colorado. The station is owned by Royal Gorge Broadcasting, LLC. The signal was formerly rebroadcast by KSTY-FM1, a 3-watt booster station also on 104.5, serving the Colorado Springs area.

Contents

History

KSTY went on the air on June 1, 1975, [2] as KRLN-FM on 103.9 MHz, changing to KSTX on August 30, 1976. [3] It was the FM sister to KRLN, and initially simulcast the AM station. KRLN-FM broadcast with 3,000 watts from a transmitter site in Canon City. On May 31, 1982, KSTX reverted to the KRLN-FM call letters.

By 1991, when the station added programming from Unistar, KRLN-FM was a country music station. [4] It became KSTY on December 30, 1994. [5]

The station remained on 103.9 MHz until 1999, when it swapped frequencies with KYZX in Pueblo and moved to 104.5. [6] Later that year, Warner Enterprises sold its stations — KSTY and KRLN, along with stations in Lincoln, Nebraska — to James Haber's JC Acquisition for $11.465 million, in conjunction with the sale of the Lincoln stations to Triad Broadcasting. [7] The Warner family's Royal Gorge Broadcasting bought back KSTY and KRLN for $715,000 in 2000. [8]

On December 8, 2005, KSTY took on on the programming and call sign of KKCS-FM (101.9). The move was undone in 2007, and the KSTY call letters and "Star Country" moniker returned to the 104.5 frequency.

On December 23, 2024, Royal Gorge Broadcasting announced that it would close KSTY and KRLN effective January 1, 2025. The stations were the last to be owned by the Warner family, whose station group had included stations in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. [9]

In April of 2025 the rights to KSTY 104.5 "Star Country" were purchased by the former manager for the radio station Meg Stanley. It is now owned by the company "Frontier Frequencies". [10]

On August 1st of 2025 the radio station KSTY 104.5 "Star Country" began airing again, now operated by "Frontier Frequencies". [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KSTY". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook, page C-29
  3. ↑ "KSTX (KSTY) history cards" (PDF). Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Format Changes". The M Street Journal. June 3, 1991. p. 1.
  5. ↑ "Call Letter Changes". The M Street Journal. January 4, 1995. p. 4.
  6. ↑ "Construction Permit Activity". The M Street Journal. May 12, 1999. p. 3.
  7. ↑ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable . November 22, 1999. p. 46.
  8. ↑ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable . March 13, 2000. p. 99.
  9. ↑ Venta, Lance (December 23, 2024). "Southern Colorado Duo To Shut Down". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Former Station Manager To Acquire Silent Colorado FM". RadioInsight. April 25, 2025. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  11. ↑ "'104.5 Star Country' Returns To Canon City, CO". Country Insider. August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 26, 2025.


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