KOTA (AM)

KOTA

City	Rapid City, South Dakota
Broadcast area	Rapid City, South Dakota
Branding	Radio 1380 KOTA
Slogan	"The Black Hills' News/Talk Station"
Frequency	1380 kHz
First air date	November 26, 1936
Format	News/Talk
Power	5,000 watts (unlimited)
Class	B
Facility ID	17678
Transmitter coordinates	44°2′0″N 103°11′15″W / 44.03333°N 103.18750°W / 44.03333; -103.18750Coordinates: 44°2′0″N 103°11′15″W / 44.03333°N 103.18750°W / 44.03333; -103.18750
Callsign meaning	DAKOTA
Former callsigns	KOBH (1936-1945)
Affiliations	CBS Radio Network
Owner	Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises
Sister stations	KQRQ, KZZI, KDDX, KZLK
Website	Website

KOTA (1380 AM, "Radio 1380 KOTA") is a radio station licensed to serve Rapid City, South Dakota. The station is owned by the Duhamel family of Rapid City. It airs a News/Talk radio format.^[1]

The station was assigned these call letters by the Federal Communications Commission.^[2]

Weekday programming includes local morning and drive time news programs as well as syndicated programming from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Thom Hartmann and Coast To Coast AM with George Noory.

Weekend programming includes syndicated programming from Kim Komando, Roger Hedgecock and a variety of lifestyle programming. During the NFL football season, select Sunday games are aired from Westwood One Radio Networks and every Monday and Thursday night game. The station also airs all Denver Broncos game through the Denver Broncos Radio Network. All playoff and Super Bowl games are carried as well.

History

The station first hit the airwaves on November 26, 1936 as KOBH (Kall Of the Black Hills), a Thanksgiving Day present to western South Dakota. It was owned by Black Hills Broadcasting, and operated from studios in the Hotel Alex Johnson in downtown Rapid City.

Originally broadcasting with a very limited licensed power of 150 watts, in 1944 KOBH sought approval from the Federal Communications Commission to move up to 5000 watts, which would dramatically improve its ability to reach this mountainous area. Asked to help, Congressman Francis H. Case sought military support. He discovered that U.S. Army Air Corps airplanes based at the recently established Rapid City Army Air Base (later renamed Ellsworth Air Force Base) used KOBH as a navigation beacon while training for European strategic bombing during World War II. With Pentagon backing, Case convinced the FCC to grant the power increase. On New Year's Day 1945, the station signed on from its new, more powerful tower under new call letters, KOTA.^[3] In the same year, it secured an affiliation with CBS Radio that continues to this day.

In 1954, Rapid City businesswoman Helen Duhamel, a minority owner since 1943, bought full control of the station, changing its corporate name to Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises. The Duhamels still own the station today. Since the 1990s, it has been a news and talk station.

Notable alumni of the station include B-movie producer Arch Hall Sr.

References

↑ "Winter 2008 Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
↑ "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
↑ Switzer, Mary Kay (2004). Sterling, Christopher H., ed. The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio Vol 1: Entries A-E. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 813. ISBN 978-1-57958-431-3.

External links

Radio stations in the Rapid City, South Dakota market

By AM frequency	810 920 980 1150 1340 1380 1450 1490

By FM frequency	88.3 89.3 89.9 90.1 90.3 90.9 91.3 92.3 93.1 93.9 95.1 95.9 97.1 97.9 98.7 99.5 100.3 101.1 101.9 102.7 104.1 105.1 106.3 107.1 107.9

By callsign	KASD KAWK KBFS KBHB KBHE-FM KDDX KDSJ KFCR KFMH KFXS KILI KIMM KIQK KKLS KKMK KLMP KOTA KOUT KPSD KJRC KQRQ KRCS KRKI KSLT KSQY KTEQ-FM KTOQ KTPT KWRC KXMZ KXZT KZLK KZZI

Defunct	KXZS (107.5 FM)

Nearby radio markets Casper Gillette Pierre See also List of radio stations in South Dakota

News/Talk radio stations in the state of South Dakota

Stations	KBFS – Belle Fourche KELO – Sioux Falls KELQ – Flandreau KORN – Mitchell KOTA – Rapid City KSDN – Aberdeen KSDR – Watertown KSOO – Sioux Falls KWAT – Watertown WNAX – Yankton

See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in South Dakota

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