KPET
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Broadcast area | Lamesa, Texas & Terry, Lynn, Garza, and Borden Counties |
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Frequency | 690 kHz |
Branding | Real Country |
Programming | |
Format | Country/News/Talk |
Affiliations | Cumulus Media Networks ABC, Texas State Network |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | 1947 |
Call sign meaning | PETroleum |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 71649 |
Class | B |
Power | 250 watts (unlimited) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°42′27″N 101°56′11″W / 32.70750°N 101.93639°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | kpetradio.com |
KPET (690 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Lamesa, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Dawson County Broadcasting LLC/DCB License Sub LLC. The station's 280-foot tower is located at the south edge of the city of Lamesa.
Programming
KPET's plays Country Music, Play by play sports and News. It operates 24 hours a day on 105.1 FM, 690 AM, and on Northland Cable across the area. Years ago, the station featured a Top-40 format, and in some years a large dose of country tunes. The hosts for the mornings reports are Don Sitton, Carl Crouch, and Jim Rush.[1]
KPET airs Lamesa High School sports, Texas Tech Red Raiders]] basketball and football, and Texas Rangers Major League baseball.
In the late fifties, many country artists traveled the area, playing clubs in Lamesa and the area. "Gentleman" Jim Reeves not only performed in the area, but also owned stations in nearby counties.
History
The call letters stand for "PET"roleum, found and pumped in the surrounding oil fields (Texas Permian Basin). The station was authorized by the FCC in 1946, and went on the air around May 10, 1947.[2] The founders were Kermit S. Ashby, R. O. Parker, and R. A. Woodson doing business as Lamesa Broadcasting Company. Mr. Ashby was onetime owner or cofounder of several Texas stations, including KPET, 1400 AM KVOP Plainview, TX, and 1050 AM KCAS Slaton, TX. The studios were located on south first street, west of the town square and the tower sat/sits on a high knoll overlooking the city of Lamesa. Studios are now at the tower, directly above Sulphur Draw, which forms the headwaters of the Colorado River, one of the main rivers in Texas.[3] The station has had the same call letters since it signed on in 1947.
The station was later owned by the Parkers and the Bradburys. In 1959, Thomas E. Conner and Bob Bradbury purchased KHEM and KFNE (FM) in Big Spring, Texas. In 1960, they bought KPET. They reorganized as The Cobra Corp. in 1963. Thomas E. Conner purchased the station on October 1, 1968, as The Conner Corporation. An FM station on 100.3 was added in 1966 (founded as KPET-FM, changed to KELE[4] in early 1969, and voluntarily taken off air in 1972 or 1973); the station was sold in 1973 to a company headquartered in Dallas.
It was acquired by the current owners in January 2008. The station is managed by and partly owned by Don Sitton, who has worked at the station since 1989. Don is a long-time resident of West Texas.[5]
The station founded and later spun off stations now known as KMMX (FM) Tahoka, Texas (Lubbock area) and KTXC (FM) Lamesa (Midland–Odessa area). KPET works with the schools in its home area, including the Lamesa Independent School District, Klondike schools, Odonnell School District, Sands schools, and Borden County schools. It has broadcast programs of the churches of Lamesa for more than 60 years.
References
- ^ "Seeing is Not Always Believing - KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports".
- ^ 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook p. A-237 says May 21
- ^ "Directory of AM and FM Stations and Market Data for the United States". 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1948.
- ^ (Broadcasting Magazine "For The Record" section page 85 dated 12-2-68)
- ^ WESTBROOK, RAY. "Sitton brothers celebrate 50th birthday - Lubbock Online - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal".
External links
- Tower location as shown in Trails.com
- Facility details for Facility ID KPET ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=AM&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=305289&sHours=U
- Articles needing cleanup from January 2009
- Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from January 2009
- Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from January 2009
- Radio stations in Texas
- Country radio stations in the United States
- News and talk radio stations in the United States
- Radio stations established in 1947
- Dawson County, Texas
- 1947 establishments in Texas