Programming:

Background:

According to research conducted by Ted Cramer & Joe Vaughan, two later KCKN alums, the original KCKN-FM signed on in 1947 at 20,000 watts of power.  This version of KCKN (not to be confused with the KCKN-FM Cy Blumenthal later founded at 94.1FM) was owned by Kansas Senator Arthur Capper and was used strictly to simulcast KCKN-AM.  The station was on the air daily from 3PM to 9PM, and would sometimes continue broadcasting later into the night so as not to cease transmission during sporting events such as Kansas City Blues baseball or Pla-Mors hockey games.  That sports programming could often be heard on Capper’s WIBW in Topeka, as that station used a setup designed to receive the KCKN-FM signal and retransmit the play by play across its own airwaves.  It’s uncertain when this station signed off – in fact, one source we’ve found lists its airdates as 1950 through 1951 – but we know it was on the air in the 1940s, as Ted notes he used to listen to KCKN-FM at a friend’s house growing up in the late 40s.

User Contributions:

Thanks to Ted Cramer & Joe Vaughan for their contributions to this page!