KXEL
Encyclopedia
KXEL is a Class A (clear channel) AM radio station serving the Waterloo
/Cedar Rapids
metropolitan area with a News
/Talk
format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 1540 kHz and is under ownership of Bahakel Communications
. KXEL is also the flagship station of the University of Northern Iowa
Sports Network.
programming from pop hits of the 1940s (the Big Band
era). KXEL also featured country music
programming before switching to its current news/talk format. Dumond later sold KXEL to career broadcaster Egmont Sonderling, then on November 9, 1958, Sonderling signed the papers transferring KXEL's license to Cy N. Bahakel.
, a sister station to KXEL) wanted the license as well. KXEL and KWWL went to court and battled it out. In the meantime, KXEL built a radio/television studio. This studio was mainly useless because KWWL won the lawsuit and signed on KWWL-TV on Thanksgiving Day 1953.
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
/Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
metropolitan area with a News
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
/Talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 1540 kHz and is under ownership of Bahakel Communications
Bahakel Communications
Bahakel Communications is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based communications company that owns radio and television stations in the United States...
. KXEL is also the flagship station of the University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
Sports Network.
History
KXEL was first created by Don E. Kassner, who worked for Joe Dumond. This station began their broadcasts on July 14, 1942 and was the first radio facility in the United States to be granted 50,000 watts of power with its original license (this designation is somewhat deceptive, as all U.S. Class A stations must operate with 50,000 watts at all times, unless "grandfathered" at 10,000 watts, whereas KXEL was amongst the very last Class As which were constructed, and it would have not been allocated at all had its licensee proposed less than the required 50,000 watts; all other "Clear Channel" stations were allocated many years before, during a period when 10,000 watts was then the maximum permissible power and, indeed, when directional antennae, as has always been employed by KXEL, were not physically possible). It began airing ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
programming from pop hits of the 1940s (the Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era). KXEL also featured 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...
programming before switching to its current news/talk format. Dumond later sold KXEL to career broadcaster Egmont Sonderling, then on November 9, 1958, Sonderling signed the papers transferring KXEL's license to Cy N. Bahakel.
Television station try
In the early 1950s, KXEL filed for the channel 7 television license in Waterloo. However, Waterloo's other powerhouse radio station, KWWL (now KWLOKWLO
KWLO is a radio station serving the Waterloo/Cedar Rapids metropolitan area with an oldies format fed from Dial Global's "Kool Gold" satellite feed. It broadcasts on AM frequency 1330 kHz and is under ownership of Bahakel Communications...
, a sister station to KXEL) wanted the license as well. KXEL and KWWL went to court and battled it out. In the meantime, KXEL built a radio/television studio. This studio was mainly useless because KWWL won the lawsuit and signed on KWWL-TV on Thanksgiving Day 1953.
Weekdays
- 12am-4am: The Midnight Radio NetworkMidnight Radio NetworkThe Midnight Trucking Radio Network is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara...
- 4am-5am: America In The Morning (News)
- 5am-8am: America's Morning News
- 8am-11am: Glenn BeckGlenn BeckGlenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
- 11am-2pm: Rush LimbaughRush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
- 2pm-5pm: Sean HannitySean HannitySean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
- 5pm-6pm: On Press Row with "The Sports Guy" Gary Rima
- 6pm-9pm: Mark LevinMark LevinMark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
- 9pm-12am: Religious Programming
Weekends
- The Midnight Radio Network
- Talk Radio Countdown with Doug StephanDoug StephanDoug Stephan is an American radio talk show personality and hosts the nationally syndicated Doug Stephan's Good Day.-Radio Programs:Doug Stephan's Good Day is a "call-in" and interview show airing live Monday through Saturday featuring a fast paced format covering variety of topics...
- Infomercials
- The Midday Report
- The Home Show with Jerry Leen
- The Kim Komando ShowThe Kim Komando ShowThe Kim Komando Show is a commercial talk radio program focusing on personal computers, the use of the Internet, and the complexities of consumer electronics....
- Sean Hannity Encore
- Best of Mark Levin
- Glenn Beck Weekend
- ABC News PerspectiveABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
- AutoWorld with Bob LongBob LongRobert Andrew "Bob" Long is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played in the 1960s and 1970s and earned two Super Bowl rings. He attended suburban Pittsburgh's Washington Township High School , and Wichita State University...