KFYR (AM)

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KFYR

Bismarck, North Dakota
Broadcast area	Bismarck-Mandan
Frequency	550 kHz
Branding	KFYR 550 AM
Programming
Format	News/talk
Affiliations	Fox News Radio Premiere Networks Westwood One Minnesota Vikings
Ownership
Owner	iHeartMedia, Inc. (iHM Licenses, LLC)
Sister stations	KBMR, KQDY, KSSS, KXMR, KYYY
History
First air date	1925; 99 years ago (1925)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	41426
Class	B
Power	5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	46°51′12″N 100°32′37″W / 46.85333°N 100.54361°W / 46.85333; -100.54361
Translator(s)	99.7 K259AF (Bismarck)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	kfyr.iheart.com

KFYR (550 kHz) is an AM radio station located in Bismarck, North Dakota, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It transmits on a 5,000-watt signal that can be heard in seven U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. KFYR also broadcasts on translator K259AF (99.7 FM) in Bismarck. 99.7 FM was previously a simulcast of KQDY 94.5 FM before 2011.

KFYR boasts an enormous coverage area. It can be heard across almost all of North Dakota during the day, as well as in parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Under the right conditions, it can be heard in parts of Nebraska. This owes to a combination of its position only one channel from the bottom of the North American AM dial, the height and power of its transmitter, and North Dakota's flat land. On the AM band, lower frequencies have longer waves, which tend to travel farther across terrain. This is especially true for stations that operate at 5,000 watts or more. Additionally, the flat landscape of the prairies makes for near-perfect ground conductivity, giving KFYR a coverage area comparable to that of a full-power FM station. At night, two towers are used in a directional pattern to protect CBK, the CBC Radio One outlet for most of Saskatchewan, which operates on nearby 540 AM. Even with this restriction, it still covers almost all of North Dakota at night. KFYR is the primary entry point station for the Emergency Alert System in both North and South Dakota.

It has been claimed that KFYR has the largest daytime coverage area of any AM radio station in the United States. A similar claim can be made for WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota, which transmits on 570AM.