KSTY

{{Infobox radio station

| name = KSTY

| logo = KSTY StarCountry104.5 logo.jpg

| logo_size = 150px

| city = Canon City, Colorado

| country = US

| area = Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colorado

| branding = Star Country 104.5

| frequency = 104.5 MHz

| airdate = {{start date|1975|6|1}}

| repeater =

| format = Country

| erp = 8,600 watts

| haat = {{convert|14|m|ft|sp=us}}

| class = C3

| facility_id = 35551

| coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|38|18|54|N|105|12|40|W}}}}

| callsign_meaning = "Star Country"

| former_callsigns = {{ubl|KRLN-FM (1974–76, 1982–1994)|KSTX (1976–1982)|KKCS-FM (2005–2007)}}

| former_frequencies = 103.9 MHz (1975–1999)

| owner = Royal Gorge Broadcasting, LLC

| affiliations = Denver Broncos Radio Network

| licensing_authority = FCC

}}

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.

History

KSTY went on the air on June 1, 1975,[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1976/1976-BC-YB.pdf 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook], page C-29 as KRLN-FM on 103.9 MHz, changing to KSTX on August 30, 1976.{{cite web |title=KSTX (KSTY) history cards |url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/fc4ee1ca-c6f6-b060-e235-a10199452c4a |website=Licensing and Management System |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=December 23, 2024 |format=PDF}} 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.{{cite news |title=Format Changes |work=The M Street Journal |date=June 3, 1991 |page=1}} It became KSTY on December 30, 1994.{{cite news |title=Call Letter Changes |work=The M Street Journal |date=January 4, 1995 |page=4}}

The station remained on 103.9 MHz until 1999, when it swapped frequencies with KYZX in Pueblo and moved to 104.5.{{cite news |title=Construction Permit Activity |work=The M Street Journal |date=May 12, 1999 |page=3}} 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.{{cite news |title=Changing Hands |work=Broadcasting & Cable |date=November 22, 1999 |page=46}} The Warner family's Royal Gorge Broadcasting bought back KSTY and KRLN for $715,000 in 2000.{{cite news |title=Changing Hands |work=Broadcasting & Cable |date=March 13, 2000 |page=99}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=Southern Colorado Duo To Shut Down |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/290125/southern-colorado-duo-to-shut-down/ |access-date=December 23, 2024 |work=RadioInsight |date=December 23, 2024}}

References

External links

[https://www.facebook.com/starcountry1045/ Star Country 104.5 Facebook]

{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=77492 |title= History Cards for KSTY|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards)

Category:Country radio stations in the United States

STY

Category:Radio stations established in 1975

Category:1975 establishments in Colorado

Category:Cañon City, Colorado