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KVNU

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KVNU
Broadcast areaLogan metropolitan area
Frequency610 kHz
BrandingNews Talk KVNU
Programming
FormatTalk radio
NetworkABC News Radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Cache Valley Media Group
  • (Sun Valley Radio, Inc.)
KBLQ-FM, KKEX, KGNT, KLGN, KLZX, KVFX
History
First air date
November 17, 1938; 86 years ago (1938-11-17)
Former frequencies
    • 1200 kHz (1938–1941)
    • 1230 kHz (1941–1948)
Call sign meaning
"Voice of Northern Utah"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID55459
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts day
  • 1,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
41°40′30″N 111°56′6″W / 41.67500°N 111.93500°W / 41.67500; -111.93500
Translator(s)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitekvnutalk.com

KVNU (610 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Logan, Utah. It is owned by the Cache Valley Media Group and airs a talk radio format, serving the Logan metropolitan area. KVNU also broadcasts Utah State Aggies sports.

KVNU first signed on in 1938 and was owned by the family of Herschel Bullen until 1996.

History

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On 1200 kHz (1938–1941)

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Following a construction permit issued February 19, 1938, KVNU first signed on on November 17, 1938, with a broadcast originating at Brigham Young College.[2] KVNU originally broadcast at 1200 kHz at 100 watts.[3] It was owned by the Cache Valley Broadcasting Company, led by S.L. Billings and other Salt Lake City entrepreneurs; Herschel Bullen and his son Reed became stockholders of KVNU's parent company.[4] In its early years, KVNU had a full service format of news, music, and entertainment and had studios at the Capitol Theatre in Logan.[5][2][6]

In 1940, KVNU increased its power from 100 to 250 watts.[3][7]

On 1230 kHz (1941–1948)

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With the enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in 1941, the frequency moved to 1230 AM.[8]

By 1945, the Bullens had become majority owners of the Cache Valley Broadcasting Company, with Herschel leading the company and Reed moving up from station general manager to company general manager to company director.[4] Reed hosted Man on the Street, a daily 12:15 p.m. live broadcast from a local jewelry business soliciting opinions from members of the public.[9] KVNU also joined the Mutual Broadcasting System by 1945.[10]

Then in 1946, KVNU began broadcasting games of the Utah State Aggies football team of what was then Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University).[11] The Billboard 1946–47 Encyclopedia of Music listed three regular music programs on KVNU, including a show devoted to Bing Crosby and a request show sponsored by Sears, Roebuck.[12] KVNU also broadcast some national entertainment programs, such as Chandu the Magician and The Roy Rogers Show.[13]

On 610 kHz (1948–present)

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KVNU moved to its current frequency of 610 kHz in 1948 and raised its power to 1 kW.[3]

In 1958, the Bullen Family was granted a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to put a television station on Channel 12 in Logan.[14] The permit was later transferred to the University of Utah to put a public television station on Channel 12.

In 1961, KVNU raised its power from 1 kW to 5 kW.[3] Through the 1960s and 1970s, KVNU was a Top 40 station and an affiliate of the ABC Contemporary Network.[15][16] In the 1970s, the daytime power was doubled to 10,000 watts.

The Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 listed KVNU as an MOR formatted station.[17] By 1985, KVNU changed its format to adult contemporary.[18] In the late 1980s, KVNU added talk shows to its schedule, with the Broadcasting Yearbook 1987 listing KVNU as an NBC Talknet affiliate.[19]

Reed Bullen retired as KVNU manager in 1986 and transferred the station to his son Jonathan. Then in 1996, the Bullen family sold KVNU to the Cache Valley Media Group.[4] By 1998, KVNU phased out music and became a news/talk station.[20] The 2001 KVNU schedule included local news shows, The Rush Limbaugh Show, and ESPN Radio.[21]

In May 2017, Utah State discontinued its decades-long partnership with KVNU and changed its flagship station to KZNS in Salt Lake City.[22] Utah State student radio station KBLU-LP became the Logan affiliate of the Utah State network.[23][24] In July 2023, KVNU returned to the Utah State sports network.[25]

Programming

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Talk shows

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KVNU is branded as "The Voice of Northern Utah".[26] It has local talk shows on weekday morning (6 to 10 a.m.) and afternoon (4 to 6 p.m.) drive time slots. The rest of the weekday schedule consists of nationally syndicated programming, including Premiere Networks' The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show, and Coast to Coast AM.[27]

Weekends feature syndicated talk shows and brokered specialty lifestyle shows about topics such as gardening and finance. Syndicated weekend shows include Handel on the Law, At Home with Gary Sullivan, and The Kim Komando Show. KVNU is part of the ABC News Radio network, with ABC's weekly newsmagazine Perspective broadcast Saturday nights.[27]

Sports

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KVNU has live broadcasts of the Utah State Aggies for football and men's basketball.[25] From 1946 to 2017, KVNU had first broadcast Utah State sports.[11][28][22] KVNU resumed Utah State sports broadcasts in 2023 after a six-year absence.[25]

KVNU has also broadcast Logan High School football since the 1940s.[28]

Technical information

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The KVNU studios are located at the Cache Valley Media Group offices near the intersection of Utah State Routes 30 and 252.[29]

By day, KVNU is powered at 10,000 watts non-directional. At night, to protect other stations on 610 AM from interference, it reduces power to 1,000 watts and switches to a directional antenna. KVNU has a construction permit to boost its daytime power to 22,000 watts. The AM transmitter is off West 3800 South in Benson, Utah, near the Little Bear River.[30] Programming is also heard on FM translators at 102.1 MHz in Wellsville, 102.5 MHz in Smithfield, 98.3 in Tremonton, Utah and 93.5 in Laketown, Utah.

Translators

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In addition to the main station, KVNU is relayed by two FM translators to widen its coverage area.

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class FCC info
K271BI 102.1 FM Wellsville, Utah 157293 210 D LMS
K273CY 102.5 FM Smithfield, Utah 146317 84 D LMS

Notes

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KVNU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b McCutcheon, Pat (November 14, 1988). "Celebrating 50 years over the airwaves". The Herald Journal. pp. 8–9. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  3. ^ a b c d "KVNU history card". FCC. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "The Broadcasting Bullens: One Family's Contribution to Cache Valley Newspaper, Radio, and Television: KVNU". Utah State University. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Daily dialings on your radio". Deseret News. February 5, 1942. p. 13. Retrieved February 25, 2024 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  6. ^ Wise, John J. (March 30, 1986). "On the air". The Herald Journal. pp. 6, 8. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  7. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1940 page 160, Broadcasting & Cable
  8. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1942 page 184
  9. ^ "Bullen Family Papers, 1893-1992". archives West. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "BMB stations, net and power" (PDF). The Billboard. Vol. 57, no. 9. March 3, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved February 25, 2024 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ a b "Tune KVNU for football (advertisement)". The Herald Journal. September 27, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved May 11, 2024 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  12. ^ The Billboard 1946-47 Encyclopedia of Music (PDF). The Billboard. 1946. p. 150.
  13. ^ Stout, Steve (March 30, 1986). "Dialing up your day". The Herald Journal. p. 8. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Utah Digital Newspapers.
  14. ^ "TV Firm Asks Channel Okeh". Associated Press. December 22, 1958. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  15. ^ "KVNU 610 AM, Logan, Utah, Week: 1974-09-09". Las Solanas Consulting. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  16. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1976 (PDF). Washington: Broadcasting Publications. 1976. p. C-202. Retrieved February 23, 2024 – via World Radio History.
  17. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 (PDF). Washington: Broadcasting Publications. 1980. p. C-232. Retrieved March 3, 2024 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1985 (PDF). Broadcasting Publications. 1985. p. B-275. Retrieved March 3, 2024 – via World Radio History.
  19. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1987 (PDF). Washington: Broadcasting Publications. 1987. p. B-291. Retrieved March 3, 2024 – via World Radio History.
  20. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1998 (PDF). Washington: Broadcasting Publications. 1998. p. D-447. Retrieved March 3, 2024 – via World Radio History.
  21. ^ "61 KVNU Weekday Broadcast Schedule". KVNU. Archived from the original on March 3, 2001. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Harrison, Shawn (May 19, 2017). "Aggie sports change flagship radio station". The Herald Journal. Logan, Utah. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  23. ^ Hansen, Daniel (July 25, 2017). "New voice of Aggie football announced". The Utah Statesman. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  24. ^ "Aggies Open 2017 Season in Big Ten Country at Wisconsin". Utah State University. August 28, 2017. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  25. ^ a b c "Utah State Athletics Announces Expansion of Radio Broadcast Coverage". Utah State University. July 19, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  26. ^ "KVNU Audio Recordings". Utah State University. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  27. ^ a b "On-Air Schedule". KVNU. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  28. ^ a b "KVNU Audio Recordings: Sporting Events". Utah State University. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  29. ^ "Contact". Cache Valley Media Group. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  30. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KVNU
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