| City of license | Lawrence, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | North East Kansas Region: (Lawrence, Topeka, Kansas City) |
| Branding | Lazer 105.9 |
| Slogan | Today's Best Music |
| Frequency | 105.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1963 |
| Format | Hot AC |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 236 meters |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 36743 |
| Callsign meaning | LaZeR |
| Owner | Great Plains Media |
| Website | lazer.com |
KLZR is a radio station in Lawrence, Kansas, broadcasting to the Topeka and Kansas City areas on 105.9 FM.
KLZR-FM airs a hot adult contemporary music format branded as "Lazer 105.9".
On August 20, 1963, KLWN-FM first signed on. Its original purpose was a full-time signal to broadcast weather, sports, and other information, including things like school closings. The FM station was originally run by a tape, at that time the station's most popular programming was University of Kansas or Lawrence High football games.
The station started with technical facilities of 17 kW on 105.9 MHz. From 1963 to 1974, both stations shared the same studio. KLWN-FM essentially simulcast the AM during daylight hours until 1972. In 1972, the staff began a separate rock programming that was broadcast in the overnight hours, first after the AM sign-off, and then it was pre-taped and replayed the next day at 3 PM, later noon. On April 1, 1974, an addition to the station allowed the AM to move into a new studio (complete with an interview room) and the FM to have the old one. On July 31, 1979, KLWN-FM received the new calls of KLZR and was authorized to increase power to 100 kW. The new 550-foot tower was completed and the new transmitter was put in use in December.
Up through to the mid 1980s, KLZR (sometimes then referred to by on-air disk jockeys as "Lazer Rock") heavily featured a New Wave format, with artists such as Icehouse, Split Enz, Mi-Sex, and The Cure, as well as Elvis Costello, The Tubes, and Joe Jackson.
During the 1990s, KLZR carried a modern rock format, which was popular on the KU campus and in the college town atmosphere of Lawrence; even garnering a mention in Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top ten "Stations that Didn't Suck" in 1998. The station was independently owned by the Booth family until they sold out on Sept 1, 1998. The Zimmer Radio Group assumed ownership until ZRG member Jerry Zimmer separated the station from the group in 2005, returning KLZR to a local ownership status under the incorporated name "Great Plains Media". After the Booths' sold out in 1998, KLZR morphed into a Top 40 station. In 2003, the station shifted formats again, this time to a Hot Adult Contemporary format which remains today.
KLZR is currently the co-flagship of the Jayhawk Radio Network (along with sister station KLWN) and carries all University of Kansas football and basketball games.