KRDO (AM)


KRDO is a commercial AM radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The station is owned and operated by the News-Press & Gazette Company of St. Joseph, Missouri and it airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast with 105.5 KRDO-FM. Both stations are aided by the news department of co-owned Channel 13 KRDO-TV, with some TV newscasts also heard on the radio stations.
Studios, offices and the AM transmitter are on South 8th Street in Colorado Springs.
Weekdays, after a morning news block, KRDO-AM-FM carry nationally syndicated programs, three of which are about family finances: Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard and Denver-based Tom Martino. Also heard weekdays are Sean Hannity, Clyde Lewis and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Weekends feature shows on money, health, home repair, guns, computers and travel. Syndicated weekend hosts include Kim Komando and Rudy Maxa. Some weekend hours are paid brokered programming. Most hours begin with world and national news from ABC News Radio.

History

In March 1947, KRDO first signed on. It was owned by the Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company and was Colorado Springs' second radio station. The call sign has always been KRDO, referring to KoloRaDO, with a "K" substituting for the "C." The station was originally powered at 250 watts.
In 1953, KRDO put a TV station on the air, Channel 13 KRDO-TV, as Colorado Springs' NBC TV Network affiliate. By the late 1960s, KRDO got a daytime power boost to 1,000 watts. But it still had to reduce power at night to 250 watts. In 1969, an FM station was put on the air, 95.1 KRDO-FM, a beautiful music outlet.
In 1975, KRDO joined NBC's News and Information Service to become an all-news radio station. When that service was discontinued in 1977, KRDO switched to a middle of the road format of popular music and news, as an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System. By the mid-1980s, the older songs were dropped and the station moved to a full service adult contemporary music format. In 1985, the FCC allowed KRDO to remain powered at 1,000 watts, both day and night. In late 1987, KRDO switched to an oldies sound. In 1991, the station flipped to a country music format. By the mid 1990s, the station was broadcasting an all sports format. During most of its run as a Sports Radio stations KRDO carried One On One Sports.
In June 2006, KRDO-AM-TV were sold to the News-Press & Gazette company, while KRDO-FM went to Citadel Broadcasting, switching call letters to KATC-FM as a country music outlet. The Hath Family, as Pikes Peak Broadcasting, had owned KRDO from its founding in 1947 until 2006, nearly six decades. The new owners coupled 1240 KRDO with FM 105.5, changing the FM call sign to KRDO-FM and having both radio stations simulcast a news-talk format drawing on the news department resources of KRDO-TV 13.