KFMW

KFMW
Broadcast areaWaterloo–Cedar Rapids
Frequency107.9 MHz
BrandingRock 108
Programming
FormatActive rock
AffiliationsUnited Stations Radio Networks
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
November 1968 (1968-11)
Former call signs
KWWL-FM (1968–1972)
Call sign meaning
"FM Waterloo"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID51664
ClassC
ERP
  • 95,500 watts
  • 100,000 watts (maximum)
HAAT550 meters (1,800 ft)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.rock108.com

KFMW (107.9 FM), known as "Rock 108", is a radio station licensed to Waterloo, Iowa, United States, with studios in Hiawatha, Iowa. The station has an active rock format. Its signal is transmitted from the AFLAC Tower north of Rowley, Iowa.

History

On June 30, 1966, the Federal Communications Commission approved an application from Black Hawk Broadcasting Company, owner of Waterloo AM radio station KWWL and TV station KWWL-TV, to build a new FM radio station on 107.9 MHz.[2] The station would be transmitted from a 2,000-foot (610 m) tower Black Hawk was planning to build for KWWL-TV.[3] The tower, near Rowley, received Federal Aviation Administration approval in 1967,[4]

KWWL-FM went on the air in November 1968[5] and changed call signs to KFMW on November 20, 1972.[2] Black Hawk Broadcasting merged into American Family Broadcasting, the broadcast division of insurer American Family Corporation (today better known as Aflac), in a deal announced in 1979 and completed in 1980. In the deal, Black Hawk spun off all of its other broadcast stations except KWWL-TV and KTIV in Sioux City to meet FCC ownership limits.[6][7] KWWL AM and KFMW were sold to the Wisconsin-based Forward Communications Corporation for $3,477,500.[8] Operations of the two stations, with the AM renamed KWLO, were moved out of the KWWL-TV building on Fourth Street to a former post office annex on Jefferson Street in downtown Waterloo.[9][10]

Since its inception, KFMW had aired a beautiful music format, but after ratings steeply declined in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Forward flipped the station to contemporary hit radio on November 1, 1982.[11] On November 27, 1983, the KWWL–KFMW tower was felled in an ice storm.[12]

Forward Communications was sold in late 1984 to Wesray Capital Corporation, which retained the Forward name for its media holdings.[13] As early as 1985, Wesray indicated its intention to sell all of Forward's radio stations.[14] KWLO and KFMW were sold to Park Communications in 1986 at a time when Forward was selling most of its broadcasting properties.[15] In 1992, the station shifted from contemporary hit radio to album-oriented rock.[16]

In 1994, Park Communications sold itself to Donald R. Tomlin and Gary B. Knapp in a deal backed by the Retirement Systems of Alabama pension fund.[17] The new owners decided the next year to sell all of the company's radio holdings.[18] Bahakel Communications, owner of KXEL and KOKZ radio stations in Waterloo, bought KWLO and KFMW from Park in 1996.[19]

The Bahakel cluster was sold to Woodward Communications of Dubuque, in 2012, and to NRG Radio in 2014.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFMW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b "History Cards for KFMW". Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "KWWL Seeks License for Powerful New FM Station". Waterloo Daily Courier. February 23, 1966. p. 3. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  4. ^ "KWWL Plans New Tower at Rowley; 2,000-foot Structure Cleared by FAA". Waterloo Daily Courier. October 26, 1967. p. 13. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  5. ^ "KWWL-FM". Broadcasting Yearbook. 1968. p. B-77.
  6. ^ "Broadcasting outlets here involved in sale, merger". Sioux City Journal. September 29, 1979. p. A7. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. November 3, 1980. p. 68. ProQuest 1014717297.
  8. ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. September 29, 1980. p. 57. ProQuest 962724557.
  9. ^ Salato, Steve (October 24, 1980). "KWWL, KFMW offices to move: Two Waterloo radio stations sold". Waterloo Courier. p. 3. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  10. ^ "Music on the move". Waterloo Courier. February 3, 1982. p. 6B. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  11. ^ Lorenzen, Deb (November 12, 1982). "KFMW, KWLO format is changed: Pop music greets 'beautiful music' listeners". Waterloo Courier. p. B13. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  12. ^ "Blizzard cripples N.W. Iowa; travelers stranded in storm". The Des Moines Register. November 28, 1983. pp. 1A, 3A. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  13. ^ Berger, Tom (January 3, 1985). "New Forward owner expanding: Wesray must sell WSAW or Marshfield paper". Wausau Daily Herald. Wausau, Wisconsin. p. 3. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Rhein, Dave (July 27, 1985). "Sioux City TV station KCAU sold once more". The Des Moines Register. p. 17A. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  15. ^ Tompkins, Kenneth (August 5, 1986). "Park Buys Two Radio Stations, Three Newspapers in lowa". The Post-Standard. p. B-4. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  16. ^ Beer, Lenny; St. John, Michael (July 20, 1992). "Wavelength". Hits. pp. 90, 88.
  17. ^ Rynecki, David (October 27, 1994). "RSA backs big TV deal: WBMG parent firm is sold". Birmingham Post-Herald. Birmingham, Alabama. pp. A1, A9. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Park looks to unload Waterloo stations". The Courier. Associated Press. December 27, 1995. p. C4. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  19. ^ Leith, Scott (April 2, 1996). "Company plans to buy KFMW, KWLO radio stations". The Courier. p. C1. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  20. ^ Venta, Lance (August 25, 2014). "NRG Media Acquires Woodward's Waterloo Stations". RadioInsight. Retrieved March 2, 2026.

42°24′04″N 91°50′38″W / 42.401°N 91.844°W / 42.401; -91.844


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