KARS-FM
Radio station in Laramie, Wyoming, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley
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| Broadcast area | Cheyenne, Wyoming Fort Collins-Loveland-Greeley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.9 MHz |
| Branding | Power 102.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Rhythmic Top 40 |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | The 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″N 105°41′46″W (NAD83) |
| Repeater | 102.9 KARS-FM1 (Fort Collins, Colorado) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | power1029noco |
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
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]
