CFPS

CFPS is an Adult Contemporary station from Port Elgin, Ontario. In 2005 they converted to 97.9 FM and signed off the AM signal. They are now known as "98 The Beach."

WOBR

WOBR is a Classic Rock station licensed to Wanchese, North Carolina. They were the first FM station on the Outer Banks of NC when they went on the air in 1974 with an Easy Listening format. Subsequent format changes include Adult Contemporary, Adult Album Alternative, Alternative Rock and Modern Adult Contemporary.

WLLZ

My Chevy Blazer recently made it to 100,000 miles which, I’m told by some, is when an internal switch is flipped and the engine will soon die. They were kidding of course but the sad fact is that my Blazer has had an array of problems for most of its life. The worst of which has been the front axle area which had to be repaired three times. Something about ball joints and Pitman arms and other terms that I have no idea what they are but get expensive real fast. It's a bad feeling when you hear a horrible thud and get out to see your wheel caved in toward the axle.  Good thing I wasn't going highway speed when it happened.  

I grew up in a Toyota family. Nothing but Coronas, Cressidas, a Prius and a 4-Runner. My dad got 400,000 miles on his 1982 Cressida station wagon. I’ll have to make a decision in the not-so-distant future if I’m gonna use my GM credit card discount and go for another Chevy or switch to another brand. I guess a second Mini Cooper would be totally impractical, especially when I need to haul some wood or bags of mulch.


WLLZ was a Detroit Rock station which lasted from 1980 to the mid 90s. They were a more hit-oriented competitor of heritage rocker WRIF and managed to beat them in the ratings from time to time. The grunge era brought a format change to Modern Rock but in 1995 they switched to Smooth Jazz as WVMV.

KBUY

KBUY was a Country music station from Amarillo, Texas. It used to be co-owned with KSEL from nearby Lubbock ("Buy & Sell".) KBUY is now "Mix 94.1" KMXJ an Adult Contemporary station.

KCQL

KCQL is a Sports Talk station licensed to Aztec, New Mexico.

NCAA Championship Game - North Carolina vs Michigan State

I wasn't planning on writing another NCAA basketball post but then realized that both universities have second campus radio stations which I have stickers from.
As far as the basketball pool at work, if MSU wins tonight I split the pot with one other person. If Carolina wins I get all the filthy lucre to myself. Bwa ha ha ha!$!$!$!$!

WKAR (Kollege of AgricultuRe - referring to MSU's original name, Michigan Agricultural College) plays Classical music along with News/Talk from National Public Radio and oh yes, Folk music on Sunday evenings.

WUNC is the flagship station of North Carolina Public Radio based in Chapel Hill. They have a News/Talk format much of which comes from National Public Radio. WUNC is also home to Back Porch Music a Folk/Traditional program now in its 33rd year.

Reds Opening Day

The Cincinnati Reds host their 128th Opening Day at 1:00 this afternoon. With a forecast high of 39 degrees and a chance of snow showers it should be a delightful time at the old ballpark. As the oldest franchise in the sport -dating back to 1869- Major League Baseball decreed that the first pitch of every season would be thrown in Cincinnati. This changed in the past decade as ESPN has been carrying opening games on Sunday night. The Reds are the only team to always start the season in their home ballpark and their first game is still considered the traditional Opening Day.
If I was honest with myself I would admit that the Reds have slowly become my favorite baseball team and not these guys.

WLW (World's Largest Wireless) has been the Reds flagship station for over 60 years. "The Nation's Station" is a 50,000 watt clear channel signal which can be heard across 38 states at night. The father/son duo of Marty and Thom Brennaman do the play-by-play on about 50 affiliates of the Reds Radio Network.

Mystery sticker #7 SOLVED!

The handwritten call letters on the back of this sticker pretty clearly says KEAM but Google hasn't been much help in trying to find out where this station was from. I looked through most of these for a KEAM at 1510 but found none. Any ideas?

UPDATE:  KEAM is from Port Arthur, Texas circa 1981.  Thanks Anonymous!

Sunday Sticker - KCIS

Circa 1986.

Circa 2005.

Current logo.

KCIS is a Religious Teaching station licensed to Edmonds, Washington and serves the Seattle area. After much prayerful consideration, one day they decided to stop informing you and start inspiring you but now they do neither.

NCAA Final Four - North Carolina vs Villanova

WXYC is the University of North Carolina's student-run station. They carry a Variety format covering almost every type of music ranging from Electronic to Classical and Calypso to Doo Wop. WXYC is credited with the first ever internet broadcast back in 1994. Los Angeles radio mainstay and Top 40 Countdown host Rick Dees and ESPN's Stuart Scott are both alumni. WXYC is licensed to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.



Villanova University has a college radio station -WXVU- but I don't have a sticker from them. As much as I'd like to simply grab an image of their logo from Google and slap it in here, the rule is that I must use an actual decal from my collection.* Therefore I'm gonna use KGRA to represent Villanova who are going to lose in historic fashion to the mighty Tarheels and help me win lots of money. (Oh please please please please please please please please please please let this happen.)
Nova 104 was an Album Oriented Rock station from Lake Charles, Louisiana. They are now KBIU, a JACK FM Adult Hits outlet.

*I already violated this dumb, self-imposed rule here. Don't tell anyone.

NCAA Final Four - Michigan State vs Connecticut

This is the first time in years ever that I've still had a chance of winning the office basketball pool this late in the tournament. I'm sitting in first place out of 40 entries and cannot be beat if North Carolina wins it all. I can't stop thinking about what I'd do with that nice windfall ($!$!$!$) if the Tarheels can pull it off. Lots of other scenarios can still take place which would knock me out of the money but I think Carolina would have to be considered the favorite of the four teams left.

WDBM is a student-run station from Michigan State University in East Lansing. They’re mostly Alternative/College Rock during the day and block programming at night including Jazz, Blues, Metal and Alternative Country. Impact 89 celebrated their 20th anniversary in February of this year.

WHUS is the radio station for the University of Connecticut. Their history dates back to 1922 making it one of the oldest radio stations in the state. The staffers are a combination of UConn students as well as community volunteers. WHUS has a Variety format featuring music from almost every genre.

KTST

It's tornado season once again in the United States. Last week we had our annual tornado drill in the creepy basement of the building where I work. I was half expecting a voice to tell me to put the lotion in the basket while I was down there.
Tomorrow is the 35th anniversary of a series of tornadoes known as the Super Outbreak which consisted of 148 twisters across 13 states. The worst hit was nearby Xenia, Ohio where two tornadoes merged into one super-tornado killing 32 people and injuring 1,150. Roughly half of the town was damaged or destroyed to the tune $100 million dollars.I'm not sure why anyone would name their radio station after a natural disaster that kills about 100 people per year on average (not to mention all the injuries and property damage.) Besides, aren't you tempting fate by cavalierly naming yourselves "Twister" when you're located in the heart of Tornado Alley? Don't be surprised when their tower gets ironically knocked down by a real version of the station logo. I guess it makes it OK if you give the tornado googly cartoon eyes and a cowboy hat.
No one could be so stupid as to name their entity after a deadly natural disaster. Oh, hold on a minute. Wait, this too? Aw, you have got to be kidding me. OK, never mind. What's next..."94.5 The Flood" from Fargo, North Dakota? "Southern India's Hottest Hits 106.9 The Typhoon?"
KTST is a Country music station licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

KRUD

KRUD is a Contemporary Hit station from {insert any American city here.}  They believe that bombarding you with the same dozen songs on an endless loop will somehow make you listen longer.  KRUD does well in the ratings because dumb people with Arbitron diaries love repetition.  The DJs are skilled, high-energy personalities who care about the community they live in are voice-tracked from hundreds of miles away.  

WOSN

WOSN is an Adult Standards/Nostalgia station licensed to Indian River Shores, Florida.

KDBM

KDBM is an AM Country music station licensed to Dillon, Montana. The FM half of this duopoly now has the call letters KBEV and runs an Adult Contemporary format.

More States on Stickers

I like maps. Always have. My teenage bedroom wall wasn't filled with rock band posters or sports pennants but instead with maps from National Geographic magazine and a hammer & sickle flag from the Soviet Union. I guess I was a cartograpic nerd. Later I spent two years as a Geography major in college but bailed out when things got too academically challenging. I just couldn't muster any interest in the Origins and Concentration of Dairy Farms in Wisconsin or studies on the Social and Environmental Effects of Deforestation on Hispaniola. I was having too much fun at the college radio station so I switched my major to Mass Communications and finally graduated four years later. These stickers and others like them combine two of my favorite things: Radio and Maps.
BTW, for a great map blog, go here.
KVBR is a Talk/Business News station licensed to Brainerd, Minnesota.

KBON is a Cajun/Zydeco/Americana station licensed to Mamou, Louisiana.

SOS Radio / KCIR

KCIR is a Contemporary Christian/Religious Teaching station licensed to Twin Falls, Idaho. It is one of almost 40 stations and translators in the SOS Radio Network.

Dart on Map - WSPA

Today's dart landed just east of Landrum, South Carolina. In fact, it landed very close to Hogback Mountain which is where the transmitter tower for "Magic 98.9" WSPA (WSPArtanburg) is located. WSPA is a Light Rock/Adult Contemporary station licensed to Spartanburg. It was the first FM station in the state of South Carolina, having gone on the air in 1946, and in 1960 it became the first in the state to broadcast in (((stereo))).

WNAW

AM 1230 WNAW (W North Adams Williamstown) is a Country station licensed to North Adams, Massachusetts.  They've been on the air since November 1947.

National Joe Day - CKNG

Today is another useless novelty "holiday" where everyone can feel free to call themselves and others "Joe." I'm now firmly convinced that this place is simply making crap up in order to get content for their website.

CKNG "Joe FM" was a Classic Hits station from Edmonton, Alberta.