KYCR (AM)

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KYCR

Minneapolis-St. Paul
Frequency	1440 kHz
Branding	The Biz AM 1440
Programming
Format	Business journalism Talk radio
Affiliations	Bloomberg Radio SRN News
Ownership
Owner	Salem Media Group (Salem Communications Holding Corporation)
Sister stations	KDIZ KKMS WWTC
History
First air date	May 1948 (75 years ago) (1948-05)
Former call signs	KEYD (1948–1956) KEVE (1956–1964) KQRS (1964–1982) KGLD (1982–1984) KQRS (1984–1996) KDIZ (1996–2015)
Call sign meaning	"Your Christian Radio" (former format of 1570 AM)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	35504
Class	B
Power	5,000 watts (day) 500 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	44°59′20″N 93°21′6″W / 44.98889°N 93.35167°W / 44.98889; -93.35167
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.twincitiesbusinessradio.com

KYCR (1440

, and is carrying a business radio format.

KYCR's studios are located in Eagan, while its transmitter is located in Golden Valley.

History

The original call letters were KEYD and the station played country music for many years. The station was launched in May 1948 by former management and advertisers of WDGY, who had become disenchanted with the owners of that station over the discontinuance of religious programming. Family Broadcasting basically started the station as a new home for the spurned WDGY programming. KEYD got a sister TV station in 1955, KEYD-TV (now KMSP-TV), and the two stations were co-owned by Family Broadcasting until mid-1956. The original KEYD radio studios were located in downtown Minneapolis on 9th Street off of Hennepin Avenue adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre. According to the 1955 Broadcasting Yearbook, both the AM and TV stations were co-located in the Foshay Tower.

The

for "Quality Radio Stations".

In 1967, the stations began experimenting with

. The foray proved successful, and by the end of 1968, it became the full-time format.

The two KQs were a simulcast until 1982, when the AM briefly switched to an oldies format as KGLD before returning to the simulcast. The KGLD calls became effective November 22, 1982, with the KQRS calls returning on March 28, 1984.

In 1985,

lawyer Joe McKenna, which owned the station from 1956 to 1985. Along with its FM sister, the acquisition was ABC's first foray into Minnesota broadcasting.

The station again broke away from the simulcast on November 18, 1996, this time permanently, when it became one of the first four affiliates of the new

", which had its own children's format. The station's call letters changed to KDIZ on November 15, 1996.

Disney had been collaborating with

, which was based in Minneapolis and had launched its children's format in 1990. Radio Aahs had grown to approximately 30 affiliate stations around the country. Disney withdrew from the Aahs contract and began competing against Aahs with Radio Disney. Children's Broadcasting Corp. sued Disney and was awarded $9.5 million in 2002. Disney appealed, and after the court upheld the judgement, it was paid in 2005; with accumulated interest, the total was $12.4 million.

On November 12, 2005, the station made world news when a riot erupted at its "Jingle Jam Concert" featuring

, forcing the venue, Brookdale Mall, to be closed. Members of the group were stripped of shirts, shoes and earrings.

On August 13, 2014, Disney put KDIZ and 22 other Radio Disney stations up for sale, in order to focus more on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.

, acquired in 1997, and KQRS-FM, acquired in 1985).

On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Salem Media Group acquired the last five Radio Disney owned-and-operated stations for sale (including KDIZ) for $2.225 million.^[6] KDIZ was acquired through Common Ground Broadcasting, Inc., for $375.000.^[7] Salem put a business news/talk format (which moved from 1570 AM) on the station in December 2015,^[8] after a brief period of silence. The format features Dave Ramsey and other business-talk oriented shows.^[9] The sale of KDIZ was completed on December 15, 2015.^[10] The station changed its callsign to KYCR on December 24.^[11] With the sale to Salem, the company shut off the station's HD Radio transmission.

On January 29, 2021, KYCR rebranded as "The Biz AM 1440".

References

External links

• KYCR in the FCC AM station database
• KYCR in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
• KEYD-AM exterior photo, 1953, from The Minnesota Historical Society
• TwinCitiesRadioAirchecks.com Recordings of KDIZ predecessor, KQRS, and other Twin Cities radio stations
• KEYD 1949 promotional station profile
• University of Minnesota 1970 thesis on the history of WDGY at radiotapes.com, page 67
• Historical reference to KEYD-AM and TV Pavek Museum Of Broadcasting
• Broadcasting Yearbooks 1949-1965
• Station's call sign changes at FCC database
• Radio Aahs receives $12 million payment from ABC, Disney