KKHQ-FM


KKHQ-FM is a radio station serving Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and the surrounding area known as the Cedar Valley with a Top 40 format. This station broadcasts on FM frequency 92.3 MHz and is owned by Townsquare Media.

History

Before the 92.3 frequency was acquired by Cumulus Media from Connoisseur Media in 2000, the station was country music-formatted KOEL-FM. This format flip also happened to other stations Cumulus acquired from Connoisseur, like KBEA, which had been a country station as well as KBOB "BOB Country." The country format and KOEL-FM call sign still live on in Waterloo/Cedar Falls on 98.5 MHz, branded as "K98.5".
Before the flip to CHR, the only other stations in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Area that carried the format were distant and somewhat weak signals: KZIA Z102.9 from Cedar Rapids, or KWAY-FM "Y99.3" from Waverly. Although Waverly is considered part of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls DMA, KWAY's signal was not the strongest. At only 4,600 watts, it is considered just another small-town radio station. And while KZIA used a full 100,000 watts, the tower was at least 40–50 miles away, which made it hard to receive over the closer stations.
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including KKHQ-FM, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by Oaktree Capital Management. The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013; KKHQ-FM was one of three stations that were placed in a divestiture trust for eventual resale within two years. In December 2016, the Federal Communications Commission approved Townsquare's request to reacquire the stations from the divestiture trust.