KOHU

Broadcast areaUmatilla County, Oregon
Morrow County, Oregon

BrandingReal Country

KOHU
Programming

Hermiston, Oregon United States
Broadcast area	Umatilla County, Oregon Morrow County, Oregon
Frequency	1360 kHz
Branding	Real Country
Format	Classic Country
Affiliations	Citadel Media
Ownership
Owner	West End Radio, LLC
Sister stations	KQFM
History
First air date	February 6, 1956
Technical information^[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	27077
Class	B
Power	4,300 watts (day) 500 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	45°51′57″N 119°18′45″W / 45.86583°N 119.31250°W / 45.86583; -119.31250
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	gohermiston.com

KOHU (1360 AM, "Real Country") is a radio station licensed to serve Hermiston, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1956, is owned by West End Radio, LLC, and serves Umatilla County and Morrow County, Oregon.

KOHU broadcasts a classic country music format relying in large part on the "Real Country" satellite-fed programming service from Citadel Media.^[2] In addition to its music programming, KOHU broadcasts local news, agricultural news, high school sports, and a community affairs program called "The Odds n Ends Show".^[3] Syndicated programming includes shows hosted by Mike Huckabee and Dr. James Dobson. These programs run every weekday on the "Morning Update."

The Morning Update is a morning show that's hosted by "Jeff Walker" and "Erick Olson". Also included in "The Morning Update" is "The Odds n Ends Show" and the "Flea Market", a show where listeners can call in and buy, sell, or trade items. "The Morning Update" runs an hour longer during the summer for "The Lawn and Garden Show". "The Lawn and Garden Show" is a show when two extension agents, from the OSU Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center give expert advice to listeners about their lawn or garden.^[4] The show was discontinued at the end of the 2010 growing season.

History

Launch on 1570

Original owners Carl F. & Sarah Knierim were issued a construction permit in 1955 by the Federal Communications Commission for a new AM radio station broadcasting with 250 watts of power, daytime-only, on a frequency of 1570 kHz.^[5] The station, assigned the KOHU call sign by the FCC, began regular broadcast operations on February 6, 1956.^[5]^[6] In 1959, the station was authorized to increase its daytime signal power to 1,000 watts.^[7]

The Hermiston Broadcasting Company purchased KOHU from Carl F. & Sarah Knierim in a transaction that was consummated on June 9, 1966.^[8] Robert Chopping was president of the company and Harmon Springer was named the station's general manager.^[8]

In 1968, the station was airing 12 hours of country & western music each week in addition to its previous middle of the road music format.^[9] By 1970, the format was an even split between country and MOR music.^[10]

The FCC granted KOHU authorization to add nighttime service at the same 1,000 watt power level as its daytime broadcasts, albeit with a directional antenna array to minimize interference with other stations on the same frequency.^[10]

Move to 1360

KOHU changed frequencies to 1360 kHz in 1974 which allowed the station to cover a larger area with the same power output and also allowed the station to use a non-directional antenna during the daytime.^[11] The station began to experiment by adding some rock music to the format.^[11] However, by 1978 the station was airing the pure country music format that it would air in one form or another for the next three decades.^[12]

In February 1997, the Hermiston Broadcasting Company reached an agreement to sell KOHU to the Capps Broadcast Group through their West End Radio, LLC, subsidiary.^[13] The deal was approved by the FCC on April 16, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on May 1, 1997.^[14]

KOHU today

In January 2003, the Capps Family, co-owners of KOHU licensee West End Radio, LLC, announced an agreement to transfer control of the company to Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 14, 2003, and the transaction was consummated on June 4, 2003.^[15] In March 2004, Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes applied to the FCC to transfer the broadcast license for KOHU to the Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes Living Trust. The transfer was approved by the FCC on April 7, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on April 12, 2004.^[16]

References

↑ "Facility Technical Data for KOHU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
↑ "Station Info". Real Country 1360 KOHU. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
↑ "The Lawn and Garden Show". OSU Extension Service. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
1 2 "Directory of AM and FM Stations and Market Data for the United States". 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1956. p. 255.
↑ "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2009.
↑ "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1960. p. A-213.
1 2 "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1967 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1967. p. B-131.
↑ "The Facilities of Radio". Broadcasting Yearbook 1969. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1969. p. B-139.
1 2 "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S.". Broadcasting Yearbook 1972. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1972. p. B-172.
1 2 "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1975. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1975. p. C-156.
↑ "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1979. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-181.
↑ "Business Briefs". East Oregonian. July 20, 2003. Dave Capps and Hughes purchased the Hermiston stations from Harmon Springer and Bob Chopping in 1997.
↑ "Application Search Details (BAL-19970226ED)". FCC Media Bureau. May 1, 1997.
↑ "Application Search Details: File number: BTC-20030103ACD". FCC Media Bureau. June 4, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
↑ "Application Search Details: File number: BTC-20040316AJH". FCC Media Bureau. April 12, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2021.

v t e Country radio stations in the state of Oregon
By frequency	1240 1300 1340 1360 1400 1400 1440 92.1 92.5 92.7 93.3 93.5 94.5 94.7 95.7 95.9 96.5 96.5 97.3 97.5 98.7 98.7 99.5 99.7 99.9 100.3 101.5 101.9 102.9 103.1 103.5 104.7 105.1
By call sign	KAKT KBDN KCMB KCYS KFLY KIHR KJDY KJDY-FM KKNU KLAD-FM KMTK KNHK-FM KNND KODL KOHU KORV KRCO-FM KRKT-FM KRRM KRSB-FM KRWQ KSHL KSHR-FM KSJJ KTDS KTIL-FM KTIX KUBQ KUPL KWHT KWJJ-FM KWVR-FM KZHC-FM
By city	Albany Bandon Baker Bay City Bend Burns Canyon City Coquille Corvallis Cottage Grove Enterprise Gold Hill Hermiston Hood River John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Lakeview Lincoln Beach Pendleton (KTIX) Pendleton (KWHT) Phoenix Portland (KUPL) Portland (KWJJ-FM) Prineville Redmond Rogue River Roseburg Seaside Springfield-Eugene The Dalles (KODL) The Dalles (KTDS) Weston
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Oregon