KPRS

1950年、アンドリュー「スキップ」カーターは、ミシシッピ川以西で黒人リスナー向けに番組編成された国内初のラジオ局としてKPRSの運営を開始した。送信機はカンザス州元知事アルフ・ランドンから寄贈された。^{[ 2 ]} KPRSは、1590 AMで500ワットの昼間放送局としてデビューし、アフリカ系アメリカ人にとって興味深いニュースやトーク番組に加え、R&Bやソウルミュージックのプレイリストを提供した。コールサインは「人民のラジオ局」を表すために選ばれた。1951年、KPRSはカンザスシティの12番街とウォルナット通りに最初のスタジオを開設した。1952年までに、カーターとエドとサイキ・ペイトはビジネスパートナーとなり、ジョンソン郡放送会社から4万ドルで放送局を買収した。彼らはKPRSをカンザスシティの東23番街2814番地の新しい場所に移転した。

KPRSは1961年5月22日にFM免許を申請し、1961年12月20日に免許が交付された。KPRS-FMは1963年5月16日に最初の免許を取得し、同年後半に放送を開始した。^{[ 4 ] [ 5 ]} 1963年当時、ほとんどの人はまだFM受信機を所有していなかったが、FMバンドの人気は高まっていた。

In 1969, the Carter Family had controlling interest in the station. In 1971, KPRS (AM) moved its programming to the 103.3 frequency under the KPRS-FM call letters and moniker “K103” (which would later be rebranded as "Hot 103 Jamz" in the 1990s). The 1590 frequency became an urban gospel-formatted station. The studios and offices moved to the Crown Center and the Carters moved to Florida to open a new corporate headquarters.

KPRS-FM dropped the -FM suffix on October 15, 1974, when its sister AM station changed its call sign to KPRT that same day.^[6][7] In 1975, KPRS became one of the first fully automated radio stations in the Midwest.^[5] DJs such as Chris King and Freddie Bell read news updates, while also announcing songs. (Bell called himself "Frederick" during newscasts.)

Ensuring the business would remain a family-run entity, Michael Carter, Andrew's grandson, was named president of the company. One of his first moves was to take both stations back to "live" formats with less reliance on automation. Michael Carter, who made his radio debut at age 8 on KPRS, also programmed KPRS for 24-hour a day service.

In January 1988, original station owner Andrew Carter died at his Florida home. To honor the black radio pioneer's legacy, the KPRS Broadcasting Corporation changed its name to the Carter Broadcast Group in 1993. His widow, Mildred Carter, became chairperson of the board. The stations continued to serve the African-American community with outreach programs and charitable promotions. In 1990, KPRS jumped from 8th to 5th in the Kansas City market, according to Arbitron ratings. Also in the 1990s, KPRS stopped playing what it perceived as negative hip-hop or gangsta rap along with explicit and overtly sexual lyrics. In 1995, KPRS won the "Crystal Award" from the National Association of Broadcasters. As the Carter Broadcast Group celebrated its 45th anniversary in 1995, KPRS had its highest ratings ever, reaching number one that year. In 2000, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary. In 2005, the station began carrying the Steve Harvey Morning Show.

The Carter Broadcast Group, owners of KPRS and KPRT, along with The Sherman Broadcast Group, were co-owners of an Urban Contemporary station known as KSJM, “107-9 Jamz”, in Wichita, Kansas. In late 2007, the two groups sold KSJM to The Ag Network Group, which dropped the Urban format for Country as KWLS "US-107.9" on January 19, 2008.

In fall 2009, KPRS added more rhythmic/pop crossover titles from artists like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Iyaz, Kesha, Katy Perry, and Jason DeRulo. This was most likely due to the implementation of Portable People Meters (PPM) in the Kansas City Arbitron ratings. This caused significant controversy, as the only black-owned Hip Hop/R&B station in the Kansas City market was, in the eyes of many of its long-time listeners, attempting to appeal to a new audience. The station has since ended this tactic.

In August 2010, the station dropped Steve Harvey, replacing him with "More Music In The Mornings" with J.T. Quick. In April 2011, management made a change within the programming department by replacing operations manager Andre Carson with longtime music director Myron Fears.

In July 2011, KPRS repositioned its DJ lineup to help improve its ratings. The morning show changed from "More Music In the Mornings" to "The Morning Jam", and was now hosted by station veterans Tony G and Sean Tyler. Julee Jonez hosts the mid-day show, while J.T. Quick moved from morning drive to afternoon drive, and the night show is rotated by Brian B. Shynin', Brooklyn Martino and Playmaker. In June 2012, KPRS returned to the #1 position in the Kansas City Arbitron ratings.

In 2023, KPRS received direct competition when KCJK, owned by Cumulus Media, flipped to urban contemporary as "Power 105.1."^[8] This has caused a drop in ratings for KPRS, although it usually leads KCJK.