Radio Stations from the Tri-Cities area you miss the most?

[seedavyrun]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

...

As a general rule of thumb, and one that is not always true, the lower FM frequencies from 88.5 to 91.9 are reserved for public broadcasting.

I did not know this. Thanks for sharing!

[pnwguy2]

94.9 was a huge winner with the calls KIOK. They still exist today and are profitable as "The Wolf", (country format). The history of this channel is noteworthy as posted above. 94.9 was OK 95 in the 80's and 90's with a rock format that transitioned to a Top 40 format, before an ownership change moved them to Country. The signal is one of the best in SE Washington.

[Mopac1980]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

94.9 was a huge winner with the calls KIOK. They still exist today and are profitable as "The Wolf", (country format). The history of this channel is noteworthy as posted above. 94.9 was OK 95 in the 80's and 90's with a rock format that transitioned to a Top 40 format, before an ownership change moved them to Country. The signal is one of the best in SE Washington.

When did OK95 became a Top 40 format? I miss listening to that station back in the early to mid 90's, also didn't they play silly skits on OK95 at 6:30 every weekday mornings back in the early 90's?

[pnwguy2]

KIOK became top40 in June of 1990. This was done because there were no others doing the format. The station tried to do it gradually and mixed in classic rock with current hits but eventually evolved to a total top 40 station. New owners changed it to country in ‘96.

Silly skits? We ran a bunch of syndicated comedy bits that were piped in to us. We didn’t have the staff to create these ourselves!

[Mopac1980]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

KIOK became top40 in June of 1990. This was done because there were no others doing the format. The station tried to do it gradually and mixed in classic rock with current hits but eventually evolved to a total top 40 station. New owners changed it to country in ‘96.

Silly skits? We ran a bunch of syndicated comedy bits that were piped in to us. We didn’t have the staff to create these ourselves!

I also remember OK95 playing some older hits of the 1980's back when I listened to the station back in the 90's, I was saddened that they changed it to country back in the Spring of 1996, I thought Power 99 was a lackluster replacement for OK95.

[pnwguy2]

New owners came in 1996. They cost me my job. Radio newcomers please realize the industry is cut throat and long lasting radio jobs are rare. They thought they could do better with a country format. And looking back they probably were correct. Thunder Country replaced OK95 but has since changed their handle. Country is big in Tri-Cities. Woo haw!