KMAS (AM)
Radio station in Shelton, Washington, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
KMAS 1030 AM & 103.3 FM is a radio station broadcasting a variety music format licensed to Shelton, Washington, United States. KMAS is known as "The Voice Of Mason County"[2][3]
| |
| Frequency | 1030 kHz |
|---|---|
| Branding | Your Local Station |
| Programming | |
| Format | Variety |
| Affiliations | Seattle Mariners Radio Network, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Kraken |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | KMAS RADIO |
| History | |
First air date | September 2, 1962 |
Call sign meaning | "Mason County" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 60878 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 10,000 watts day 1,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°13′17″N 123°4′46″W |
| Translator | 103.3 K277CZ (Shelton) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
History
The station first signed on the air in September 1962.[4] It was founded by Mason County Broadcasting Co. and originally broadcast on 1280 kHz as a daytime-only station with a power of 1,000 watts.[5] The call letters KMAS were chosen to represent Mason County, although some say KMAS pays homage to Shelton's Christmastown Heritage, and the station’s first studios were located at the current location of the Wallace-Kneeland interchange before Highway 101 came through.[6]
In 1984, the station underwent a technical change, moving from 1280 kHz to its current frequency of 1030 kHz.[7] This move allowed KMAS to increase its signal coverage and eventually transition to 24-hour broadcasting, serving as the primary local news and information source for the South Sound region. The daytime power is 10,000 watts and 1,000 watts at night.[8]
In 2007, the station was acquired by Olympic Broadcasting. During that time the station added its FM translator and jumped around until landing on it's current frequency 103.3fm.[9] On January 3, 2012, KMAS changed their format from oldies to news/talk.
On January 12, 2016, KMAS rebranded to iFiberOne NewsRadio as a result of merging with local cable/fiber optic provider iFIBER Communications.[10]
In 2023, longtime morning show host Jeff Slakey, along with John & Rachel Hansen, joined together to purchase KMAS from iFIBER Communications. The station transitioned back to a music station now playing music from 1965-2025 and across all genres. Jeff has been doing the morning show on KMAS for almost 20 years and is on from 6-10am weekdays. Rachel is on in the afternoon from 2-6pm and longtime local broadcaster Will Stone is on weeknights, midnight to 6am.
In 2024, KMAS was nominated for and won the Shelton Mason County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.
The station is known for being connected to the Mason County community with interviews with local elected officials, city and county employees, business leaders, school districts and other members of the community. In addition to covering the Shelton School District, the station covers news, scores and updates for other local districts, including North Mason High School and Mary M. Knight High School.[11]
Beyond high school sports, KMAS served as a local affiliate for professional regional teams. It has frequently carried Seattle Mariners baseball and Seattle Seahawks football games for listeners in the Shelton and Olympic Peninsula area.[12]
KMAS is also streaming online at kmas.com and listeners can also download the free KMAS radio app in Apple App & Google Play Store. KMAS also streams on smart speakers.
