KPWB (AM)
Radio station in Piedmont, Missouri, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
KPWB (1140 AM) is a radio station in Piedmont, Missouri, United States. It is owned by Dockins Broadcast Group. The station has been on the air in Piedmont since 1966.
| |
| Frequency | 1140 kHz |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Dockins Broadcast Group |
| History | |
First air date | May 16, 1966 |
Call sign meaning | Piedmont/Watson and Bumpus, original owners[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 28120 | |
| Class | D |
| Power | 1,000 watts (daytime only) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°8′29.2″N 90°42′11.4″W |
| Translator | K221GO (92.1 MHz) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
History
On January 25, 1965, Gaylon Watson and Joseph M. Bumpus, trading as the Wayne County Broadcasting Company, applied for a new, 250-watt daytime-only radio station on 1140 kHz in Piedmont. The commission granted the application on November 4, 1965,[3] and KPWB began broadcasting on May 16, 1966, with a country music format as well as local news and religious programming. A popular early feature on the station was radio bingo until the Missouri Attorney General ruled that such games constituted illegal lotteries. Power was increased to 1,000 watts in 1967.[1] In 1982, the station was the last communication link with the outside world when Piedmont was surrounded by floodwaters.[4]
In 1985, KPWB was sold to Sam English of Poplar Bluff and his Clearwater Broadcasting.[5][6] The sale included an FM construction permit held by the station, allowing it to begin nighttime broadcasting or even split programming.[5] In late 1985, KPWB-FM 104.9 began broadcasting as a simulcast of KPWB AM, continuing its format in the evening.[7] In 1991, the KPWB stations were sold to Hunt Broadcasting Group, at which time KPWB AM aired an adult contemporary format.[8]
Dockins Broadcast Group owned KPWB-AM-FM from 2003 to 2008, when the stations were sold to Southern Star Communications of Tennessee. By March 2008, KPWB AM was off the air due to flood damage. A year later, KPWB-FM also went off the air with no notice to advertisers or religious ministries.[9] Dockins, which held a security interest in the KPWB stations after selling to Southern Star, successfully filed seeking back rent and possession of the property and moved to reopen KPWB AM and FM.[10]