| City of license | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Minneapolis-St. Paul |
| Branding | 100.3 FM KFAN: The Fan |
| Slogan | "The Sports Leader" |
| Frequency | 100.3 (MHz) (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1965 |
| Format | Analog/HD-1: Sports/Talk HD-2: KTCN simulcast |
| ERP | 98,000 watts |
| HAAT | 281 meters |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 54458 |
| Callsign meaning | "The FAN" (the "X" substitutes for the "A") |
| Former callsigns | 2006-2011: KTLK-FM 2003-2006: KJZI 1999-2003: WLOL 1997-1999: WRQC 1993-1997: WBOB 1965-1993: WCTS |
| Affiliations | Minnesota Vikings (flagship) Minnesota Wild (flagship) Minnesota Golden Gophers football (flagship) Fox Sports Radio |
| Owner | Clear Channel |
| Sister stations | KDWB, KEEY, KQQL, KTCN, KTCZ |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | kfan.com |
KFXN-FM 100.3 (FM)—branded 100.3 FM KFAN: The Fan—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb of Shoreview on KMSP-TV's tower. Its effective radiated power is 98,000 watts (including beam tilt). The station's main studios are in St. Louis Park.
KFXN-FM is the flagship station of Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Golden Gophers football and Minnesota Wild hockey. It is also the flagship station of the regional FAN Radio Network.
At midnight on August 15, 2011, Clear Channel swapped the formats of KFAN (1130 AM), and 100.3 FM's former conservative news/talk format KTLK-FM. The new KFXN-FM call sign, shared with former AM sister station KFXN, was adopted the same day.
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The station started broadcasting in 1965 as WCTS, with a non-commercial Christian format, consisting of mostly Bible teachings, by the Fourth Baptist Church in Minneapolis. WCTS took its call letters from its owner - the Central Theological Seminary. WCTS continues broadcasting to this day on 1030 AM.
A startup company called Colfax Communications purchased WCTS-FM for $10 million in early 1993. Part of the deal was that they needed to find an AM station for the Seminary to purchase in order to continue the format, which they did when they struck a deal to buy WMIN. Around the same time, Colfax took advantage of recently relaxed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and became the Twin Cities market's first duopoly when they purchased KQQL to partner with the new station. Once WCTS switched frequencies in January, Colfax took the FM station off the air for a few months, eventually signing back on a few months later, on May 13 with a country music format as WBOB ("Bob 100"), after stunting for two weeks with a comedy format, to create a buzz about the new station. The slogan was "Turn your knob to Bob". WBOB faced stiff competition from the long established K102 and upstart KJJO-FM, which had switched to country only a few months prior. Despite this, WBOB was consistently the second highest-rated country station in the market behind K102. Bob 100 even passed K102 very briefly for the crown, but when KJJO dropped the format, it allowed K102 to point its guns solely at WBOB, and that battle ended.
In 1996, both WBOB and KQQL were sold to Chancellor Broadcasting, which owned other stations in the market. A format change for WBOB was subsequently expected, and finally, on April 15, 1997, WBOB became WRQC, broadcasting a hard rock format with Howard Stern in the morning and the slogan "Classic Rock That Really Rocks". The purpose was to topple highly-rated classic rock station KQRS-FM and its wildly popular morning show hosted by Tom Barnard. WRQC was known on-air initially as Real Rock 100, later Rock 100.3. WRQC created some controversy for its provocative billboards touting Stern, with a scantily clad female model and the words "Turn On Howard".
Stern's show was a mild success in the market, but consistently finished second or third in the ratings, while only taking away a smaller than expected number of listeners from KQRS and Barnard. In addition, like many other Stern affiliates, ratings for the station the rest of the day were poor, and certainly not helped by KQRS' owners flipping its sister station, KEGE to a similar hard rock format in 1997. Rock 100.3 did not meet its objective in providing a strong rival to KQRS.
Rock 100.3 and Stern left the Twin Cities airwaves on August 3, 1999, as the station began stunting by carrying audio from other co-owned stations from around the country.. When the new format debuted a week later, the format was 1970s-era classic hits. Although ratings were decent initially, the station's overall performance was disappointing.
WLOL remained on 100.3 for almost four years, but in June 2003, the KJZI call letters and a smooth jazz format were introduced. This was the first smooth jazz station since KMJZ (104.1 FM) went off the air in 1998. (The current KZJK carried the format on its HD2 sub-channel from 2005 to 2011.)
Smooth Jazz 100.3 carried one syndicated show Jazz Trax on Saturday evenings form 10pm-12am. This show featured on air personality Art Good and his weekly Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown. During its time in operation, KJZI would have a place in the local Minnesota State Fair where they would have shirts, mouse pads and other gear for the public to take or purchase.
For two years, Smooth Jazz 100.3 made a CD with its most popular music. Proceeds of the CD went to various charities in the Twin Cities that helped promote children play music.
The station gained some goodwill in the community when the local public broadcaster KBEM-FM, another jazz station, found itself in financial straits in early 2005, Clear Channel donated $25,000 to help keep it operating.[1] KJZI and sister station KTCZ carried announcements requesting support for KBEM-FM. The generous move was lauded by many in the media. [2]
While satisfied with smooth jazz, Clear Channel was even more interested in launching a news/talk station in the Twin Cities, in order to air programming from company-owned Premiere Radio Networks and FOX News Radio. Clear Channel denied renewal of Premier synidcated shows such as Rush Limbaugh, who was a local longtime affiliate of KSTP for the new station. Having no available AM stations in the market on which they could run a news/talk format — (KFAN was already highly successful with their sports/talk format, and KFXN possessed too weak a signal), Clear Channel decided to put a talk format on one of their FM signals. The company had experienced success with the introduction of news/talk programming on one of their Pittsburgh FM stations, WPGB. More recently, Clear Channel has launched FM news/talk stations in other markets. Since their other Twin Cities FM stations were already well established and successful, local management decided KJZI was the most expendable.
On January 2, 2006, KJZI switched to talk, becoming the second commercial FM talk station in the area after female-oriented talk station WFMP. The new call letters were KTLK, and they obtained the local syndication rights to Limbaugh's and later Sean Hannity's radio programs from KSTP. A mix of local and syndicated hosts such as Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham filled out the rest of KTLK's schedule, including former KSTP host Jason Lewis and paranormal talk show Darkness Radio. The station had also resumed carrying Vikings football broadcasts.
Clear Channel already owns an AM News/Talk station in Los Angeles, California that also uses the KTLK call sign. While two stations on different bands and/or in different cities may use the same call sign, they both must be owned by the same company.
In the spring of 2008, former KTLK news director, Jeff Monosso, was honored with U.S. Congressional recognition for his reporting on the 35W Bridge collapse. He and host, Jason Lewis, were also honored by the Minnesota Associated Press for best spot news coverage.
Initially, the new talk station was not much of a ratings success, but over time, KTLK began to see ratings growth in the Metro area.[3]
On August 8, 2011, Clear Channel announced a two-way frequency swap that would move KTLK-FM's talk format to 1130 AM and a translator at 102.5 FM, while the sports format of KFAN would move to 100.3 FM, which took effect Monday, August 15, 2011. The low-power signal at 103.5 FM and the HD2 subchannel at 100.3 FM both underwent the same format swap as did 1130 AM. The company planned to simulcast the talk station's signal on FM translator 102.5 FM, but has been delayed in seeking FCC approval.[4]
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, KFAN "...has morphed from a sports-talk station to a talk station that sometimes discusses sports." [5]
The Power Trip Morning Show: Hosted by "Superstar" Mike Morris. Consist of sports, some local and world news, and the world of entertainment. Morris is joined by producer Chris Hawkey (a NASCAR enthusiast and lead singer of country band Rocket Club), and Cory "Sludge" Cove. Also frequently on the show are WCCO-TV sports anchor Mark Rosen, and local pizza enthusiast Paul "Meatsauce" Lambert. Lambert is also host of an infrequent program called, "Saturdays with Sauce" which is a Dark Star production.
PA: Hosted by Paul Allen, produced by "Tiny Joe" Nelson. Formerly was the P.A. and Dubay show. Paul Allen is the voice of the Minnesota Vikings Radio Network and Canterbury Park. He is known for his dramatic, intense calls of exciting moments of Viking's games.
The Common Man Progrum (KFAN's spelling): Hosted by the "Common Man" Dan Cole. The show features a mix of sports and political discussions both on local and national levels. Despite being on a sports-talk station, Cole at times rarely talks about any sports other than golf and boxing – a fact he is proud of. Common is well known for his esoteric takes and remarkable ability to predict future events like when Brad Radke will give up his first home run. Another common theme on the show is extended periods of dead air, sometimes lasting up to 10 seconds, in which he plays an elevator theme song that makes the silence less awkward. Interim producer of the Common Man is Brandon "Tenna-B" Mileski. Mileski, who is also the Coon Rapids High School varsity boy's hockey coach.
Bumper to Bumper: Hosted by Dan Barreiro and sidekick/producer and Iowa Hawkeyes fan Justin Gaard. The show consists of Barreiro's insights on both popular culture issues and sports, discussing the most important events of the day. Bumper to Bumper is also known to feature satirical call-in segments with eccentric Green Bay Packers fan Carl Gerbschmidt, who appears to be a fictional character.[6] Barreiro has several other popular segments including the "Done as a Society" segment at 6:05 every Friday, the "Defrocked Holy Man of the Day" segment and the "Ode to a Dead Guy" segment. Barreiro is well known for asking very long questions that are more of a soliloquy than a question.
Video Games Weekly: Tuesdays, hosted by Paul Charchian, who discusses new video games for many different platforms. The show is routinely sponsored by Activision Blizzard and co-hosted by staff members of Game Informer Magazine, typically Senior Editor Matt Helgeson. Game Informer, owned by Gamestop Corporation, is a monthly magazine based out of Minneapolis.
FAN Outdoors: Thursdays, hosted by Billy Hildebrand and Saturdays 6 am-8 am, hosted Rob Drieslein. Saturdays 5 am-6 am, Outdoors Live with Doug Leier. The hosts share their hunting and fishing experiences and strategies, along with insights on outdoor issues.
In the Zone: Saturdays, hosted by Dave Sinykin and former NBA player Trent Tucker. All sports are covered in the show, but much of it revolves around the NBA.
Minnesota Viking Broadcast: Pregame coverage of Vikings games starts two hours before the day's Vikings game usually on Sunday but some times on Monday if the Vikings have a Monday Night Football game. Pregame was usually hosted by "Mr. Phunn" Joe Anderson; however, Anderson was let go sometime before 2009 and K102 KEEY-FM's Morning Show co-host Mike "Muss" Mussman took over the duties of pregame coverage. KFAN's Vikings broadcast team consists of Paul Allen on play-by-play, and color commentary done by former Viking Linebacker and Assistant Coach Pete Bercich. Sideline insight is brought to the game by former Viking Punter Greg Coleman. The halftime report is hosted by Mike Mussman with insight from Mike Morris and Corey Cove. The postgame report is also hosted by Mussman and includes interviews from multiple Vikings players and coaching staff which are conducted by Greg Coleman.
Viking Fan Line: Starts right after the Vikings post-game report and lasts about two hours. Mike Morris and Corey Cove take fan post-game reaction and provide their insight on what the fans think. Joe Senser returned to KFAN on December 13, 2009, to fill in for Mike Morris while Morris was in Iraq visiting soldiers on tour.
Vikings Uncensored: Mondays during Vikings season. Hosted by Paul Allen and "Sludge" Cory Cove from Joe Sensor's bar and grill in Bloomington. They interview a star Viking player from the game on Sunday. The program is not broadcast if the Vikings have a Monday Night Football game.
Packer Preview: Sundays 8am-9am during the Green Bay Packers season, hosted by Dave Sinykin. The Preview examines the day's Packers game. Packer Preview is the only Packers show on KFAN and is controversial among Viking fans.
Fantasy Football Weekly: Saturdays during the football season. Hosted by Paul Charchian since 1994. Co-hosts include John Tuvey, Christian Peterson, and Bo Mitchell. Typical shows will offer advice and predictions for almost 200 players each week. Fantasy football questions are answered on this show, primarily during "Lightning Round" at the end of the show. Other recurring segments include "Take a Chance on Me" and "Five Tough Questions". Callers are known to call a couple of hours before the show is on-air to be put on hold.
Saturdays with Sauce: Saturdays. Hosted by Power Trip Morning Show sidekick Paul "Meatsauce" Lambert for one hour on Saturday afternoons. Meatsauce covers all sports, and mainly focuses on reliving past Minnesota sports moments. Frequent guests include Paul's father, WCCO-AM’s Dark Star, and Iowa Hawkeyes fan Justin Gaard.
Tee to Green: Saturdays. Golf related show hosted by Dan Cole during the summer months, talks all things golf related with co-host and master teaching professional Craig Waryn.
Strike Radio: Saturdays. MMA/UFC related show hosted by Henry Lake, MMA fighter Mark Waters, and Strike Fitness Gym's Dan Blustin.
Fox Sports Radio: On when none of the programs above are on the air. Fox Sports Radio programming on KFAN includes The J. T. the Brick Show and multiple weekend shows.
Vikings/Jared Allen Live: Thursdays [usually] - almost always begins with Paul Allen (play-by-play voice of the Minnesota Vikings and host of the 9-noon weekday show) interviewing the Minnesota Vikings Coach (currently Leslie Frazier) and other Vikings' coaching staff at Winter Park. Paul Allen usually has in-depth questioning and discussion with the coaches, usually relating to the week before and upcoming. Jared Allen live is usually right after; it usually takes place at Baja Sol Cantina in Eden Prairie. It involves Mike "Muss" Mussman and Jared Allen talking about the previous football week/Vikings game as well as the upcoming week. They also talk about what is going on with Jared Allen. They almost always have the "Golden Mullet Award" segment, which consists of Mussman telling Allen some unusual stories across America; it may be awkward inventions or such. Allen chooses one of these to give a "Golden Mullet Award" and announces the following week.
Beyond The Pond: Hockey related show during the winter months. Hosted by former Minnesota Golden Gophers Nate Miller and Pat Micheletti, and Common Man Progrum producer Brandon Mileski.
Sunday Sermons: Hosted by Dan Barreiro. Short version of Bumper to Bumper, with Iowa Hawkeyes fan Justin Gaard as producer.
Rights to the Minnesota Timberwolves broadcasts were lost in 2006. KFAN had held these rights since the Wolves' inaugural season in 1989. The Wolves returned to KFAN beginning in the 2008-09 season, until the 2010-11 season, when the team moved to WCCO.
P.A. and Dubay: Hosted by Paul Allen and Jeff Dubay. Consists of Minnesota Vikings news, University of Minnesota sports, some Minnesota Twins happenings, and news on the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Timberwolves. Dubay is nicknamed "Puffy", which was given to him by his cohost P.A.
Paul Allen is known as the voice of the Minnesota Vikings, since he does the play by play for KFAN's broadcast of Vikings games. P.A. is the track announcer at the local horse racing track Canterbury Park. The duo were continuously on the wrong side of predictions on major sporting events. The show became infamous for its ability to jinx local athletes who are frequent guests, similar to the Madden jinx or the Sports Illustrated jinx. The only team that was mostly impervious to the curse is the Gopher Men's hockey team. Iowa Hawkeyes fan Justin Gaard was the producer for the P.A. and Dubay show. Former Detroit Pistons head coach Flip Saunders frequently called into the show, with the moniker of "Phil from Minneapolis". The show ended after Jeff Dubay was fired from KFAN shortly after an Oct. 15, 2008 for fifth-degree drug possession. Paul Allen continues a solo show at the station.
The Chad Hartman Show (2 pm-4 pm): Hosted by Chad Hartman, son of legendary Twin Cities sportswriter Sid Hartman. The show features a mix of sports and current issues. Frequent guests of the Hartman Show include Minnesota Twins ex-General Manager Terry Ryan and WCCO-TV sports anchor Mark Rosen. Hartman is referred to by the Common Man as "the Barbara Walters of the Fan" for his impressive interviewing skills. The Chad Hartman show is produced by Darren "Doogie" Wolfson. On January 20, 2009 Hartman and Darren Wolfson were laid off from Clear Channel as part of company wide layoffs.[7]
Sludge and Lake Show: Hosted by Cory "Sludge" Cove and Henry Lake. Consisted of the latest in sports, entertainment, etc. The show has been "permanently put on pause" as Cory "Sludge" Cove put it. The show hit the airwaves for the final time on May 15, 2009.
ESPN Radio: On when none of the programs above were on the air. ESPN Radio programming on KFAN included AllNight with Jason Smith and multiple weekend shows. The ESPN Radio affiliation moved to KSTP on April 12, 2010.
It opened in 2004 and closed in 2005. The food services were managed by Grand Management, which operates a chain of Sidney's restaurants in the Twin Cities. Clear Channel Communications considered it to be a pilot project and may have tried to create similar restaurants across the country if it succeeded. In September 2005, the KFAN name was dropped and the restaurant became known as the Big City Tavern. The restaurant owners said the affiliation with Clear Channel was too limiting and implied that the establishment was only a sports bar. In July 2006, Big City Tavern closed. The restaurant was taken over by Major's Sports Cafe in September 2006, then changed owners again in 2008 to the Roseville location of Grumpy's Bar & Grill.
KFXN, also known as "Score 690", was KFAN's sister station and aired a complimentary sports talk format from 1998 until September 2011. Prior to being donated to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, the station aired mostly syndicated shows from Fox Sports and ESPN Radio, in addition to the Dan Patrick Show and the Jim Rome Show. For a time, KFXN also aired repeats of KFAN's local shows.
With the divestiture and format change of KFXN, Clear Channel moved the sports format of "The Score" to the HD2 subchannel of KQQL, with plans to eventually air it on translator K278BP (103.5 FM).
| Location | Call sign | Frequency (kHz) | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bemidji, Minnesota | KBUN | 1450 AM | Paul Bunyan Broadcasting |
| Brainerd, Minnesota | KLIZ | 1380 AM | BL Broadcasting |
| Duluth-Superior (MN-WI) | KQDS | 1490 AM | Red Rock Radio |
| Ely, Minnesota | WELY | 1450 AM | Boundary Waters Broadcasters |
| Fargo-Moorhead (ND-MN) | KVOX | 740 AM | James Ingstad |
| Grand Forks-East Grand Forks (ND-MN) | KKXL | 1440 AM | Clear Channel |
| Mankato, Minnesota | KYSM | 1230 AM | Linder Radio |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN-WI) | KFXN-FM | 100.3 FM | Clear Channel |
| Rochester, Minnesota | KFAN | 1270 AM | Clear Channel |
| St. Cloud, Minnesota | KXSS | 1390 AM | Townsquare Media |
By February 2005, the station was one of a handful of stations in Minnesota to use iBiquity's HD Radio system for digital radio broadcasts. On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that KTLK's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on classic country hits from their Format Lab. In August 2009, the format was changed to classic rock.
On August 22, 2010, the HD2 channel began instead carrying the audio of KFAN (1130), mainly in order to allow KFAN's signal to be relayed to K279AZ, an analog translator station at 103.7 FM atop the IDS Center; HD Radio subchannels are allowed to be carried via translator stations.
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