KQQZ

KQQZ
Broadcast areaGreater St. Louis
Frequency1190 kHz
Programming
FormatDefunct
Ownership
Owner
  • Entertainment Media Trust
  • (Entertainment Media Trust, Dennis J. Watkins, Trustee)
OperatorInsane Broadcasting Company[1][2]
History
First air date
November 1, 1968
(56 years ago) (1968-11-01)
Last air date
April 12, 2020
(4 years ago) (2020-04-12)[a]
Former call signs
  • KHAD (1968–2000)
  • KRFT (2000–2009)
Technical information
Facility ID5281
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts (day)
  • 650 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
38°42′25″N 90°3′10″W / 38.70694°N 90.05278°W / 38.70694; -90.05278

KQQZ was a commercial AM radio station that was licensed to serve Fairview Heights, Illinois, on 1190 kHz, and broadcast from 1968 to 2020.

KQQZ first broadcast in 1968 as KHAD, a station licensed to De Soto, Missouri. For its first 30 years, KHAD primarily broadcast country music and talk shows. A potential sale to the Rev. Larry Rice was terminated in 2000 after a fire destroyed KHAD's studios and transmitter. Eventually, the Radio Free Texas Trust bought KHAD, changed its call sign to KRFT, and operated KRFT as a sports talk station. The sports format continued until 2010, when financial losses and the Great Recession forced the owners to sell the station.

The station's license, and the licenses of three other co-owned stations in Greater St. Louis, were revoked by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 20, 2020, after it was revealed that the principal ownership—Entertainment Media Trust—was set up as a shell company for a convicted felon, Robert S. Romanik, who operated the stations under the "Insane Broadcasting Company" name.[3] Despite the cancellation, Romanik continued to broadcast without a valid license on the frequency until April 12, 2020.[4] While having carried a classic country format to the end of its existence, KQQZ also aired a controversial daily talk radio show hosted by Romanik, the content of which led to additional license challenges for having potentially violated federal law against broadcasting obscenities.[5]

The former station's transmitter site is located in the town of Pontoon Beach, Illinois.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ri-sends was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference fcc-DOC-357837A1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Holleman, Joe (April 3, 2020). "STL shock-jock still on air after FCC pulls radio licenses". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2. Retrieved April 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference stl-silence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "DKQQZ". FCCdata.org - powered by REC. Retrieved May 12, 2020.


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