KNWI

KNWI
Osceola, Iowa; United States;
Broadcast area	Des Moines metropolitan area
Frequency	107.1 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	Life 107.1
Programming
Language	English
Format	Christian adult contemporary
Subchannels	HD2: Faith Radio (Christian talk and teaching)
Ownership
Owner	Northwestern Media; (University of Northwestern - St. Paul);
Sister stations	KNWM
History
First air date	October 1, 1982 (1982-10-01)
Call sign meaning	Northwestern Iowa
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	37454
Class	C1
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	193 meters (633 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	41°09′06″N 94°02′42″W / 41.15155°N 94.04510°W / 41.15155; -94.04510
Translator	HD2: 100.7 K264CD (Des Moines)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.life1071.com
Simulcast
	KNWM
Madrid, Iowa; United States;
Broadcast area	Ames-Des Moines
Frequency	96.1 MHz
Ownership
Owner	Northwestern Media; (University of Northwestern – St. Paul);
History
First air date	1997 (1997) (as KEZF)
Former call signs	KEZF (1997); KLRX (1997–2004);
Call sign meaning	Northwestern Media
Technical information
Facility ID	42083
Class	A
ERP	6,000 watts
HAAT	100 meters (330 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	41°51′05″N 93°43′30″W / 41.85139°N 93.72500°W / 41.85139; -93.72500 (KNWM)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;

Contemporary Christian radio station in Osceola–Des Moines, Iowa

KNWI (107.1 FM, "Life 107.1") is a Christian adult contemporary radio station, licensed to Osceola, Iowa, and serving the Des Moines metropolitan area. It is owned and operated by University of Northwestern – St. Paul in Roseville, Minnesota, a religious university which owns a chain of radio stations around the U.S. KNWI also simulcasts on KNWM (96.1 FM) in Madrid, Iowa.

History

The station first signed on the air on October 1, 1982.^[3] The call sign was KJJC and the station played country music. It was owned by J. B. Broadcasting, Inc. and it was only powered at 3,000 watts, unable to be heard in the larger Des Moines radio market. In the late 90s and early 2000s, the stations ran a Sports talk format.^[4]

Signal upgrades

Despite targeting Des Moines for decades, the city was outside the station's city-grade contour. In 2018, UNW proposed a modification to KNWI to upgrade it to 100 kW from a tower near Winterset. The move required KDSN-FM 107.1 in Denison to move to 104.9; in order to assure approval, UNW Northwestern subsidiary UNW Media Holdings LLC reached an agreement to buy KDSN-FM and its associated AM KDSN 1530 from Mikadety Radio Corporation for $1.25 million. (In September 2018, UNW Media divested the KDSN stations to JC Van Ginkel, James Field, & Rodney Christensen's Crawford County Broadcasting for $1.15 million.^[5]) The frequency changes were approved by the FCC on August 12, 2019.^[6] In October 2021, KNWI officially made the upgrade to 100,000 watts, and as a result, KNWM briefly dropped the KNWI simulcast.^[7]

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for KNWI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ "Facility Technical Data for KNWM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1983 page B-90
^ "KJJC - The JOCK!". January 23, 2002. Archived from the original on January 23, 2002. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
^ "Station Sales Week Of 9/7: KDSN Gets Divested Soon After Its Acquisition - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
^ Ellis, Jon (August 12, 2019). "FCC approves upgrade for Des Moines-area Christian FM". Northpine. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
^ Ellis, Jon (October 27, 2021). "Central Iowa Contemporary Christian Station Upgrades". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved September 6, 2024.

External links

Life 107.1 KNWI / 96.1 KNWM Home Page Archived February 13, 2013, at archive.today
Facility details for Facility ID 37454 (KNWI) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
KNWI in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
Facility details for Facility ID 42083 (KNWM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
KNWM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
Facility details for Facility ID 146022 (K264CD) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
K264CD at FCCdata.org

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[FCC-LMS-37454-1] "Facility Technical Data for KNWI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[FCC-LMS-42083-2] "Facility Technical Data for KNWM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[3] Broadcasting Yearbook 1983 page B-90

[4] "KJJC - The JOCK!". January 23, 2002. Archived from the original on January 23, 2002. Retrieved May 6, 2025.

[5] "Station Sales Week Of 9/7: KDSN Gets Divested Soon After Its Acquisition - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.

[6] Ellis, Jon (August 12, 2019). "FCC approves upgrade for Des Moines-area Christian FM". Northpine. Retrieved October 2, 2019.

[np-knwiupgrade-7] Ellis, Jon (October 27, 2021). "Central Iowa Contemporary Christian Station Upgrades". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved September 6, 2024.