KMIN
Encyclopedia
KMIN is a radio station
broadcasting a Country Music
format. Licensed to Grants, New Mexico
, USA. The station is currently owned by KD Radio, Inc.
and Albuquerque
. John Blake was the original owner of this new radio station. The programming was diverse. Easy listening music was heard in the mornings. Polka music was heard mid-days and classical in the afternoon. In those days, KMIN was required to sign off at sunset and sign on again at sunrise.
There are two explanations of what the call letters mean. One is that John Blake's wife was named Minnie. Min for short. The other explanation is that Grants was a mining town. For many years the station was called K-Mine Radio. No one seems to know which is true.
In 1961 John Blake and his partner Dave Button sold KMIN to Tom Foster from Center Texas. On July 15, 1962 the programming was changed to a Popular Music
format. The first song of the new format was Toni Fisher
singing "The Big Hurt
". It was played by the man who would be the KMIN General Manager for 20 years, Bernie Bustos Senior.
In November 1964, KMIN was sold to James B. Barber who owned the station until 1983. Mr. Barber also owned the town newspaper at the time. KMIN stayed with the Pop format until 1975 when it was changed to Country Music. By the late 1970s, the format was a mix of Country and Popular music.
1983 brought another new owner. Don Davis of Albuquerque purchased KMIN and moved the studios to their current location on 733 East Roosevelt Avenue. Don moved KMIN to 1400 on the dial for a brief period so it could stay on at night. When the Federal Communications Commission changed the night time signal rules, KMIN moved back to 980 with a 250 watt signal at night. Don put KMIN-FM on the air and moved the Country format to the FM dial. KMIN became a Rock & Roll Oldies station. KMIN-FM has had several call letter changes and in 2000 was sold to an out of state broadcasting company.
KD Radio Incorporated purchased KMIN and KDSK-FM in January 2001. Having had much success with kdradio.com in California, it was decided to put the massive KD Radio oldies format of 7000 songs on a broadcast station. The response has been very good.
KMIN is a community station and broadcasts local events like the annual Mt. Taylor Quadratholon, High School sports and La Fiesta De Colores. After all these years KMIN is a strong presence in the community and is still the top rated station in the market.
On June 14, 2004 KMIN's Sound Souvenir's format moved over to the FM side of the dial, on KMIN's sister station KDSK located at 92.7 on the FM dial. Due to the Sound Souvenir's strong showing in the ratings, number one in its market, management made the decision to move the format to the stronger FM signal. KMIN 980 was changed to a Country format using the music that was sent to the station over the last 50 years, as well as today's current hits.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting a Country Music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
format. Licensed to Grants, New Mexico
Grants, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County....
, USA. The station is currently owned by KD Radio, Inc.
Station history
KMIN signed on the air in July 1956 as the first radio station licensed to Grants, New Mexico. KMIN was the only station with a good strong signal between GallupGallup, New Mexico
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
and Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. John Blake was the original owner of this new radio station. The programming was diverse. Easy listening music was heard in the mornings. Polka music was heard mid-days and classical in the afternoon. In those days, KMIN was required to sign off at sunset and sign on again at sunrise.
There are two explanations of what the call letters mean. One is that John Blake's wife was named Minnie. Min for short. The other explanation is that Grants was a mining town. For many years the station was called K-Mine Radio. No one seems to know which is true.
In 1961 John Blake and his partner Dave Button sold KMIN to Tom Foster from Center Texas. On July 15, 1962 the programming was changed to a Popular Music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
format. The first song of the new format was Toni Fisher
Toni Fisher
Toni Fisher was an American pop singer. She was known for her recordings of "The Big Hurt", "West of the Wall", "Maybe ," and "Why Can't The Dark Leave Me Alone".-Biography:...
singing "The Big Hurt
The Big Hurt (song)
"The Big Hurt" is a pop song, that was a hit Toni Fisher in 1959. The song was written by her husband, Wayne Shanklin. The song went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart in the United States...
". It was played by the man who would be the KMIN General Manager for 20 years, Bernie Bustos Senior.
In November 1964, KMIN was sold to James B. Barber who owned the station until 1983. Mr. Barber also owned the town newspaper at the time. KMIN stayed with the Pop format until 1975 when it was changed to Country Music. By the late 1970s, the format was a mix of Country and Popular music.
1983 brought another new owner. Don Davis of Albuquerque purchased KMIN and moved the studios to their current location on 733 East Roosevelt Avenue. Don moved KMIN to 1400 on the dial for a brief period so it could stay on at night. When the Federal Communications Commission changed the night time signal rules, KMIN moved back to 980 with a 250 watt signal at night. Don put KMIN-FM on the air and moved the Country format to the FM dial. KMIN became a Rock & Roll Oldies station. KMIN-FM has had several call letter changes and in 2000 was sold to an out of state broadcasting company.
KD Radio Incorporated purchased KMIN and KDSK-FM in January 2001. Having had much success with kdradio.com in California, it was decided to put the massive KD Radio oldies format of 7000 songs on a broadcast station. The response has been very good.
KMIN is a community station and broadcasts local events like the annual Mt. Taylor Quadratholon, High School sports and La Fiesta De Colores. After all these years KMIN is a strong presence in the community and is still the top rated station in the market.
On June 14, 2004 KMIN's Sound Souvenir's format moved over to the FM side of the dial, on KMIN's sister station KDSK located at 92.7 on the FM dial. Due to the Sound Souvenir's strong showing in the ratings, number one in its market, management made the decision to move the format to the stronger FM signal. KMIN 980 was changed to a Country format using the music that was sent to the station over the last 50 years, as well as today's current hits.