January 15th is a milestone for KMOE 92.1. This date will be the 46th year that KMOE the FM-side of the radio station has been on the air.
The station came to Bates County and opened in the city of Butler, as an AM station only, on May 11th 1962 . The Federal Communication Commission granted an AM license for Bates County Broadcasting to be on the air from sunrise to sunset. This requirement for the Butler Radio Station, allowed the AM to sine-on as early as 6:00 am and required the AM to sine-off the air as early at 5 pm in the winter months and as late at 7 pm during the summer months.
With these limitations the choice to purchase an FM license was made on January 15th of 1975. The addition of the FM 92.1 frequency for Bates County Broadcasting required the FM to be on the air at least 16 hours each day. The choice was made to begin broadcasting at 6:00 am and go off the air at 10:00 pm, even though the FCC license allowed the FM to be on the air 24 hours each day.
As the years brought changes to the world of broadcasting, Automation was purchased in 1996. With the addition of computer automation, DJ’s were no longer needed for broadcasting the evening shift or weekends. This allowed the FM side to broadcast through automation programming to remain on the air 24 hours every day – 7 days each week.
KMAM will be celebrating its 59th year of broadcasting through the 1530 AM side on May 11th this date will mark the 59th anniversary KMAM to be on the air.
The original owner and founder of KMAM-KMOE is Bill Thornton, now 92 years old. Mr. Thornton continues to be active in serving his community with pride and commitment. If you would like to send and anniversary card to Bill, his address is 606 Summit Street Butler. He would appreciate a thank you card for his years of service to Bates County.
