KLO (AM)


KLO is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Ogden, Utah, and serving the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The station is owned by Capital Broadcasting.
KLO operates at 25,000 watts by day and 5,000 watts at night, using a four-tower array directional antenna. Capital Broadcasting's offices and studios are in the 257 Tower Building on East 200 South in Salt Lake City. KLO's transmitter is near the Great Salt Lake in Layton, Utah. All four of KLO's towers are different heights, which is unusual.

Programming

KLO airs a soft oldies and adult standards radio format as "Unforgettable 1430 KLO." It uses the Westwood One music service known as "America's Best Music," featuring pop and adult contemporary hits, primarily from the 1950s through the 1990s with a scattering of more recent songs. KLO presents old-time radio shows evenings, paid brokered programming on weekend mornings and Weber State University football and basketball games. Most hours begin with CBS Radio News.

History

KLO signed on in 1925, making it Utah's third oldest radio station. As late as 1935, it was the only radio station on the air in Utah, apart from KSL and KDYL in Salt Lake City. KLO was the flagship station of the Interstate Broadcasting Corporation, later the Intermountain Network.
During the 1960s and 70s, KLO was a Top 40 station. In 1979, the station's ownership changed to KLO Broadcasting, Inc., switching the station to full service adult contemporary music in the 1980s and 90s.
In 2001, KLO flipped to a conservative talk format, and picked up Weber State University sports. Many of its talk shows came from the Salem Radio Network. In the 2010s, the station got a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to change its transmitter location and increase its daytime power to 25,000 watts.
In 2012, Capital Broadcasting purchased KJQN Coalville from the Simmons Media Group and began to simulcast KLO's programming on 103.1 FM. The purchase was approved by the FCC in July and KJQN promptly changed its call letters to KLO-FM. Two other Salt Lake City-area talk stations also have FM simulcasts, 1160 KSL and 570 KNRS, so KLO management felt it should do the same to stay competitive. The simulcast lasted two years.
In 2014, 103.1 FM switched to adult contemporary music and today is KSQN, airing a classic alternative rock format. KLO's programming was once again available only on the AM dial. On December 11, 2018, KLO switched from talk to Westwood One's soft oldies and adult standards music format. The service is called "America's Best Music," but KLO brands itself as "Unforgettable 1430."
On July 15th, 2020, KLO was sold to El Sembrador Ministries for $260,000. The station will file a FCC Form 302-AM application to change the status of the station from commercial to non-commercial. The historic three letter KLO call letters are excluded from the sale and will be assigned to one of Capital Broadcasting's FM stations in the future.