KIOS-FM
Two navy blue boxes. In the larger blue box are the letters KIOS in a sans serif, with the O stylized to look like a radio tower emitting circular waves. In the smaller box is the text "91.5 Omaha Public Radio" in a condensed sans serif.
Broadcast areaOmaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area
Frequency91.5 (MHz) (HD Radio)
BrandingOmaha Public Radio, 91.5 KIOS
Programming
FormatPublic radio
AffiliationsNational Public Radio
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
September 15, 1969 (1969-09-15)
Call sign meaning
"Instruction Omaha Schools"[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID17416
ClassC1
ERP55,000 watts
HAAT169 meters
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitekios.org

KIOS-FM (91.5 MHz) is a National Public Radio member station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, owned and operated by Omaha Public Schools (OPS). It is the primary news/talk NPR station for the Omaha metropolitan area, airing programming from NPR and other public radio producers. The studios are located in the OPS headquarters complex northwest of downtown, and the transmitter tower is located behind Benson High School at 52nd and Maple streets.

The station signed in on September 1969 and was the second noncommercial station in Omaha. Initially primarily intended as a teaching tool for students in radio broadcasting programs in Omaha high schools, it became a charter member of NPR in 1971[3] and shifted its emphasis toward news and information programming. KIOS-FM has an annual budget of $1.2 million and employs 15 people.[3]

History

On October 4, 1967, Omaha Public Schools applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new radio station to serve the Omaha area. It initially proposed to build a commercial station on 104.5 MHz, feeling an assignment any lower would cause interference concerns to WOW-TV (channel 6),[4]: 159  but the application was granted instead for a noncommercial outlet on 91.5 MHz on March 27, 1968.[5] KIOS-FM began broadcasting programming on September 15, 1969.[6]

The original format primarily consisted of daytime educational programs for use in the city schools, classical music, and variety programming.[7] The studios and transmitter were originally at Central High School, and most of the students taking broadcasting classes utilizing KIOS attended that school.[8] In 1974, KIOS-FM began subcarrier broadcasts of a regional radio reading service for the blind, Radio Talking Book, which was the sixth such service in the United States.[9][4]: 214 

In 1975, the KIOS transmitter was moved to its present location at Benson High School, a higher site—the highest parcel OPS owned[4]: 215 —that allowed increased coverage.[10] That same year, the studios moved to Technical High School—now the headquarters of OPS—as part of a centralization of the radio and television production programs in the district.[11] As KIOS shifted to providing mostly public radio programming, and to provide additional opportunities for hands-on experience, student training switched to a new carrier current station inside Technical High School in 1977.[12]

In a time before Morning Edition, the station aired a morning classical music program hosted by longtime Omaha broadcaster Frank Bramhall, who also served as a Top 40 DJ and television meteorologist; Bramhall would move to KVNO (90.7 FM) in 1979.[4]: 215  KIOS-FM began soliciting public donations in 1982 in the face of declining allocations from OPS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.[13]

Despite the addition of Love Notes, a jazz show hosted by Omaha musician Preston Love, KIOS experienced operational turmoil in the early 1980s during the managerial tenure of Frank Coopersmith, who proposed changes in programming that included big band music in response to declining ratings; Coopersmith had been hired by OPS in part because KVNO had surpassed KIOS.[14]: 85  Listeners and members of the station's community advisory board protested the reshuffle as moving KIOS-FM away from its information and education remit.[15] Coopersmith was fired in 1984 in what he alleged was a political move to remove employees seen as close to the recently dismissed superintendent of Omaha schools;[16] other district employees called him "abrasive" as a manager and insubordinate.[17] While the station began 24-hour broadcasting for the first time in 1985,[18] this was curtailed for a time five years later due to school board budget cuts.[19]

In 1985, an agreement among the three NPR-aligned stations then serving Omaha and Council Bluffs—KIOS-FM, KIWR, and KVNO—resulted in KIOS adopting its current news and information emphasis.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Minge, Jim (November 22, 1997). "Call Letters Fit Stations". Omaha World-Herald. p. 65SF.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KIOS-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. 1 2 Grace, Erin (September 23, 2019). "KIOS, friend who does all the talking, turns 50". Omaha World-Herald. p. 1B. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mann, Carl (2020). "The History of Omaha Radio: An Inside Look at the Evolution of Broadcasting" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  5. ↑ "FCC History Cards for KIOS". Federal Communications Commission.
  6. ↑ "School District FM Station On Air With Just One 'Ad'". Omaha World-Herald. September 15, 1969. p. 4. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  7. ↑ Carlsen, Ellen (July 4, 1969). "Central High's Radio Station Beaming With Students Soon". Omaha World-Herald. p. 10. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  8. ↑ Bresette, James (April 16, 1971). "Central High's 'Youth' Station Class in Action". Omaha World-Herald. p. 25. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  9. ↑ Cater, Christie (July 13, 1975). "'Talking Book' Program Feels Pinch". Omaha World-Herald. p. 12-B. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  10. ↑ McGovern, Tim (December 2, 1975). "KIOS Finds They're Still Listening". Omaha World-Herald. p. 19. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  11. ↑ "Remodel Bid At Tech High Is $230,345". Omaha World-Herald. April 8, 1975. p. 6. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  12. ↑ Mitchell, Betsy (January 7, 1977). "KTEC 'Only Sound Around' And Only to Small Audience". Omaha World-Herald. p. 9. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  13. ↑ Jordan, Jeff (March 30, 1982). "Stations Seek Support of Listeners". Omaha World-Herald. p. 29. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022 – via GenealogyBank.
  14. ↑ Mann, Carl (2021). The History of Omaha Radio: An Inside Look at the Evolution of Broadcasting (PDF). Vol. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  15. ↑ Whitesides, John (September 27, 1983). "Board Orders KIOS to Resolve Conflict". Omaha World-Herald.
  16. ↑ Mahoney, Jerry (August 9, 1984). "Fired KIOS Director Blames Political Plot". Omaha World-Herald.
  17. ↑ Mahoney, Jerry (August 23, 1984). "Board Backs KIOS Firing of Manager". Omaha World-Herald.
  18. ↑ "KIOS Broadcasting 24 Hours Every Day". Omaha World-Herald. December 2, 1985.
  19. ↑ Shanahan, Deborah (August 14, 1990). "Omaha Schools' Budget to Mean Lower Tax Rate". Omaha World-Herald. p. 11.
  20. ↑ Hilt, Michael L. (Summer 1990). "Public Radio: Three Stations' Survival". Feedback. p. 20–23. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2022.

41°17′17″N 95°59′38″W / 41.288°N 95.994°W / 41.288; -95.994

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