KWST


KWST is a commercial AM radio station licensed to El Centro, California. It is owned by Entravision Communications and broadcasts to the Imperial Valley and Mexicali, Baja California.
KWST is powered with 1,000 watts by day. But at night, it reduces power to 36 watts. The transmitter is off Dogwood Road in El Centro.
KWST airs a Mexican adult contemporary radio format, simulcast from sister station 94.5 KSEH in Brawley, California. Programming is also heard on a five watt FM translator, K229CU at 93.7 MHz, also in El Centro. The station calls itself "La Suavecita 94.5." La Suavecita is translated as "the little soft one," meaning its music is softer than most Regional Mexican stations.

History

The station first signed on the air on June 1, 1958, as KAMP. It was originally a daytimer, broadcasting at 1,000 watts but required to sign off at sunset to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 1430. KAMP was owned by the El Centro Radio Corporation and was one of the leading stations in the Imperial Valley for the next few decades. It carried at various times, programming from ABC Radio and NBC Radio. It sometimes aired country music and sometimes it had an oldies format.
The station changed its call sign from KAMP to the current KWST by the Federal Communications Commission on March 15, 2001.