View source for KPQ (AM)

{{short description|Radio station in Wenatchee, Washington}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = KPQ
| logo             =
| city             = [[Wenatchee, Washington]]
| area             = [[Central Washington]]
| branding         = ''Newsradio 560 KPQ''
| frequency        = 560 [[kHz]]
| translator       = {{Radio Relay|101.7|K269HC|Wenatchee}}
| airdate          = [[1926 in radio|1926]] (as KGCL Seattle)<BR>December 28, 1929 (in Wenatchee)
| format           = [[Talk radio|News/talk]]
| power            = 5,000 [[watt]]s
| class            = B
| facility_id      = 71715
| coordinates      = {{coord|47|27|12|N|120|19|43|W|region:US-WA_type:landmark}}
| callsign_meaning =
| former_callsigns = KGCL (1926–1928)
| affiliations     = [[ABC News Radio]]<BR>[[NBC News Radio]]<BR>[[Compass Media Networks]]<BR>[[Premiere Networks]]<BR>[[Westwood One]]<BR>[[Seattle Seahawks|Seattle Seahawks Radio Network]]<br>[[Washington State Cougars  football|Washington State]]-[[Learfield]] Sports Network (Football)<BR>[[Wenatchee Wild]]
| owner            = [[Townsquare Media]]
| licensee         = Townsquare License, LLC
| sister_stations  = [[KAPL-FM]], [[KKWN]], [[KPQ-FM]], [[KWNC]], [[KWWW-FM]], [[KYSN]], [[KYSP]]
| webcast          = [https://kpq.com/listen-live/ Listen Live]
| website          = [https://kpq.com kpq.com]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}
'''KPQ''' (560 [[Hertz|kHz]]) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[AM broadcasting|AM]] [[radio station]], licensed to [[Wenatchee, Washington]], and serving the North [[Central Washington]] region. The station is owned by [[Townsquare Media]] and broadcasts a [[talk radio|news/talk]] [[radio format]]. The [[radio studio]]s and offices are on North Wenatchee Avenue.<ref>[https://www.kpq.com/contact/ KPQ.com/contact]</ref>
KPQ transmits 5,000 [[watt]]s. By day, its signal is [[omnidirectional antenna|non-directional]], but to protect other stations on [[560 AM]], at night it uses a [[directional antenna]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/info/KPQ-AM Radio-Locator.com/KPQ-AM]</ref>  Programming is also heard on 250 watt [[FM translator]] '''K269HC''' at 101.7 [[Hertz|MHz]].
==Programming==
KPQ has three news blocks on weekdays, in morning [[drive time]], at noon and at 5 p.m. Much of the rest of the weekday schedule is [[radio syndication|nationally syndicated]] talk shows: "[[The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show]]," "[[Lars Larson|The Lars Larson Northwest Show]]," "[[The Ramsey Show]] with [[Dave Ramsey]]," "[[Coast to Coast AM]] with [[George Noory]]" and "[[America in The Morning]]." A Pacific Northwest Agriculture hour is heard just before sunrise. The station provides regional news for Central Washington and has the largest radio News/Ag Department in the region.
Weekends feature shows on health, money, home repair, the outdoors, technology, law, travel, cars and RVs. Syndicated weekend hosts include [[Leo Laporte]], [[Bill Handel]] and [[Rudy Maxa]]. [[Don West (sportscaster)|Don West]] provides sports reports and the station carries [[Seattle Seahawks]] and [[Washington State Cougars football]] broadcasts. Most hours begin with a news update from [[ABC News Radio]].
==History==
[[File:Kpqlogo.jpg|thumb|Former logo.]]
KPQ was first licensed in [[Seattle]], with the sequentially assigned [[call sign]] KGCL, on September 3, 1926, to Louis Wasmer.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=145 "New Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', August 31, 1926, page 3.</ref> Local radio engineer Francis J. Brott built KGCL's original 15 watt transmitter, which began broadcasting from the Brott Radio Laboratories building. The station's initial schedule was a single one-hour weekly program on Wednesday nights from 8 to 9 o'clock, announced by Brott and sponsored by the Hopper Kelly Music Company.<ref>"F. J. Brott Is Radio Pioneer", ''Seattle Daily Times'', October 3, 1926, page 1.</ref>
Louis Wasmer, who had put station KHQ on the air in Seattle in early 1922, <ref> John F. Schneider,  ''Seattle Radio'' (Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Press, 2013), p. 11. </ref> moved it to Spokane in the summer of 1925.<ref> "Around the Radio Dial," ''Seattle Daily Times'', August 5, 1925, p. 10. </ref> Although he now lived in Spokane, Wasmer took on Archie Taft as a local partner for this new Seattle station.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106763060&view=1up&seq=450 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', December 31, 1926, page 8.</ref> In December 1926, station operations were transferred to the Piper & Taft building, site of a sporting goods store that had expanded into retail radio receiver sales. Beginning in June 1927 KGCL was assigned to 1300&nbsp;kHz, sharing this frequency with KPCB (now [[KIRO (AM)|KIRO]]), owned by the Pacific Coast Biscuit Company.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106763078&view=1up&seq=87 "Broadcasting Stations"] (Effective June 15, 1927), ''Radio Service Bulletin'', May 31, 1927, page 9.</ref>
In 1928, KGCL's call sign was changed to KPQ.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066938382&view=1up&seq=105 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', May 31, 1928, page 7.</ref> The station continued to be operated by Piper & Taft and to share time with KPCB. At the time of its debut as KPQ, the schedule was announced as Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons starting at 4:30&nbsp;p.m.<ref>"KPQ, New Radio Station, To Begin Operation Today", ''Seattle Daily Times'', March 19, 1928, page 10.</ref> On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the [[Federal Radio Commission]]'s [[General Order 40]], KPQ and KPCB were reassigned to share 1210&nbsp;kHz.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221814&view=1up&seq=246 "Broadcasting Stations, By Wavelengths"] (effective November 11, 1928), ''Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States'' (June 30, 1928 edition), page 174.</ref>
In late 1929, it was announced that the recently formed Wescoast Broadcasting Company had purchased both KPCB and KPQ,<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066938374&view=1up&seq=131 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', October 31, 1929, page 9.</ref> as part of a plan to form a regional radio network along with KVOS in Bellingham and KXRO in Aberdeen. Included with the purchase were plans to relocate KPQ from Seattle to the Cascadian Hotel in Wenatchee.<ref>"Radio", ''Seattle Daily Times'', November 8, 1929, page 15.</ref><ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066938374&view=1up&seq=183 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', January 31, 1930, page 9.</ref> KPQ's first broadcast from Wenatchee occurred on December 28, 1929.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19990219102522/http://www.kpq.com/history.htm "History of KPQ"] by Wescoast Broadcasting, 1999.</ref>
In early 1930, KPCB and KPQ were reassigned to 1500&nbsp;kHz,<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066938374&view=1up&seq=217 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', February 28, 1930, page 23.</ref> although shortly thereafter KPCB moved to another frequency, giving KPQ unlimited broadcasting hours. In March 1941, as part of the implementation of the [[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement]], most stations on 1500&nbsp;kHz, including KPQ, were moved to 1490&nbsp;kHz.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015080119129&view=1up&seq=26 ''List of Radio Broadcast Stations, Alphabetically by Call Letters as of March 29, 1941''], page 26.</ref>
On April 1, 1942, KPQ moved to 560&nbsp;kHz,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/broadcasting22unse#page/n775/mode/1up/ Notice (untitled)], ''Broadcasting'', April 6, 1942, page 16.</ref> where it has been located ever since.
In 2007 Wescoast Broadcasting, which had been KPQ's licensee for 78 years, was sold to Cherry Creek Radio, and KPQ's studios were moved from Mission Street to Wenatchee Avenue.<ref>[https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/changes-afoot-at-kpq-with-new-ownership/article_87e29529-9f31-5146-90eb-a8b8755fe17a.html "Changes afoot at KPQ with new ownership"] by Travis Hay, ''Wenatchee World'', October 20, 2007.</ref>
In August 2021, KPQ started a simulcast on K269HC 101.7 FM for those with radio tuners with no AM dials.
Effective June 17, 2022, Cherry Creek Radio sold KPQ as part of a 42 station/21 translator package to Townsquare Media for $18.75 million.
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{AM station data|71715|KPQ}}
*[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=43954 FCC History Cards for KPQ] (covering KGCL / KPQ from 1927-1980)
{{Wenatchee Radio}}
{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Washington}}
{{Townsquare Media}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Washington (state)|PQ]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1926]]
[[Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Townsquare Media radio stations]]