CKRK-FM


CKRK-FM is an English-language Canadian radio station located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, a First Nations reserve near Montreal, Quebec.
It broadcasts on 103.7 MHz with an effective radiated power of 250 watts using an omnidirectional antenna. The transmitter is aging and based on recent measurements the transmitter is putting out approximately 220 watts. The station is heard fairly well in Kahnawake and surrounding towns in the southwest sector of the Montérégie. Reception is also possible on the island of Montreal, particularly in the south and southwest sectors of the island.
CKRK-FM was originally on 103.5 MHz with only 50 watts; it moved to its current frequency and raised its power in 1996, after another station, CJLM-FM, signed on the same channel in Joliette, causing interference.
The station went on the air on March 30, 1981, and identifies itself as "K1037”. It originally had a country music format; starting in 1995, it moved to an adult contemporary format with significant time devoted to hip-hop programming during weeknights. K1037 still aired country music on the weekend on Wednesdays between noon and 1 pm hosted by Joe McGregor and Leo Diabo.
The mainstay of K1037’s broadcast week, and principal revenue generator, is the Friday night "Radio Bingo" broadcast, from 8 PM to approximately 10:30 PM. This on-air bingo game draws in hundreds of players weekly from Kahnawake and the surrounding communities.
K1037 Radio also carries live play-by-play broadcasts of Kahnawake hockey and lacrosse games throughout the season. Previously, CKRK-FM aired play-by-play broadcasts of Montreal Expos baseball games in 1991 and 1992 on a number of occasions, when CJAD was not able to do so because of schedule conflicts with Montreal Canadiens hockey games.
In the fall of 2008, K1037, in conjunction with and with the assistance of the Kahnawake Fire Brigade, held a 55-hour-long Radiothon to raise funds towards the purchase of a new ladder truck for the Brigade. K1037 was successful in raising over $450,000 Canadian towards the $1.1 million price tag for the vehicle.
On April 19, 2010, Montreal radio legend Ted Bird joined the morning show at K1037 after having left CHOM 97-7, his radio home of 25 years, after becoming increasingly disgruntled with the direction of the station. He would leave CKRK-FM on May 7, 2012, over mutual terms that was not revealed. The following week, Bird would return to the air after signing a two-year contract with CKGM.
The station airs country music on weekends, from 6 am Saturday to noon Sunday.