KQDJ (AM)
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| KQDJ-AM | |
| Broadcast area | Jamestown, North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Branding | 1400 ESPN |
| Frequency | 1400 (kHz) |
| First air date | 1953 |
| Format | Commercial Sports (ESPN Radio) |
| ERP | 1,000 watts (day) 250 watts (night) |
| Owner | Two Rivers Broadcasting |
| Website | none |
KQDJ is an AM radio station located in Jamestown, North Dakota. A 1000-Watt station (which reduces power to 250 Watts between sunset and sunrise) with a range of about 40 miles under average conditions, KQDJ has served the Stutsman County area under various identities since 1953. KQDJ currently carries ESPN Radio, but formerly recently had an nostalgia format, playing music from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
[edit] History
In 1953, radio station KEYJ went on the air. The station's express mission was to serve the Jamestown community (the other local station, KSJB, had developed into a regional station that didn't adequately serve its home city), providing news, sports and market coverage to the city of Jamestown and its immediate environs.
KEYJ was originally part of the "KEY" network of radio stations, located throughout the Dakotas, all having "K-E-Y" as the first three letters of their callsign ("KEYZ" in Williston, ND; "KEYA" in Belcort, ND; etc.). The stations were owned by the Ingstad brothers from 1953 until 1969, when KEYJ was sold to its longtime station manager.
KEYJ gained brief fame in 1957, when it was featured in Life Magazine, as the home of the "World's Youngest D-J", Shadoe Stevens.
KEYJ Incorporated (and its president, Robert L. Richardson) owned and ran the station until 1979, when Richardson sold the operation to Great West Broadcasting. On August 1, 1979 , station changed its call letters to KQDJ. Great West was a short-lived operation that lasted only two years. Afterwards, the station went through several owners.
[edit] Alumni
Richardson considered part of his original mission to be helping teach young people from the community how to work in broadcasting. To that end, he made a point of hiring students from the local high school and Jamestown College to work at the station.
Among the many broadcasters who started at KEYJ/KQDJ were:
- Shadoe Stevens (real name: Terry Ingstad)
- Dick Ingstad (brother of Terry/Shadow), syndicated morning host.
- Mick Wagner, nationally-syndicated jazz DJ ("The Dawn Patrol")
- Dan Dean Dewald, Overnight Classic Rock DJ in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
[edit] Links
- Findradio.us data sheet
- Query the FCC's AM station database for KQDJ
- Radio Locator Information on KQDJ
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