KKMR

Arizona City, Arizona
Broadcast area	Phoenix metropolitan area
Frequency	106.5 MHz
Branding	K-Love
Programming
Format	Contemporary Christian
Ownership
Owner	Educational Media Foundation
Sister stations	KLVA, KLVK
History
First air date	April 13, 1985; 38 years ago (1985-04-13) (as KXMK at 106.3)
Former call signs	KKAF (1981–1986, CP) KXMK (1986–1990) KONZ (1990–1997) KBZR (1997–2001) KOMR (11/8–27/2001) KKRM (2001–2002)[1]
Former frequencies	106.3 MHz (1986–1997)
Call sign meaning	Derived from former AMoR format, which was used from previous owner
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	2740
Class	A
ERP	860 watts
HAAT	266 meters (873 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°50′04″N 111°38′15″W / 32.83444°N 111.63750°W / 32.83444; -111.63750
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	klove.com

KKMR (106.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Arizona City, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and it airs a Christian Contemporary radio format, as part of the K-Love network.

KKMR is a Class A station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 860 watts. The transmitter is on East Hanna Road in Eloy.^[3]

History

The station signed on the air on April 13, 1985; 38 years ago (1985-04-13).^[4] Its original call sign was KXMK and it broadcast at 106.3 MHz. The original owner was the Sonoro Broadcasting Company. FM 106.3 spent most of its early time on the air simulcasting other stations, especially former co-channel station KOMR.

The stations aired a classical music format in the early 1990s, with this station bearing the KONZ call letters. It later shared KEDJ's Modern Rock format. In 1997, it moved one spot up the Phoenix radio dial and began stints as an Adult Album Alternative (AAA) station and an oldies outlet before returning to simulcasting KEDJ in 1999.

In 2001, Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation acquired the station and changed it to a Spanish-language Adult Contemporary format called "Amor." It was a simulcast with KOMR 106.5 and KQMR 100.3. The station was assigned the KKMR call letters by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 13, 2002.^[1] In October 2005, Univision adjusted the "Amor" format, making it more Oldies-driven, and changed the name to "Recuerdo".

The station applied for an FCC construction permit in 2000 for a power increase to class C3. It was granted in 2010 after much modification and application tweaking. This was overseen by the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation's engineering department, which also secured other upgrades such as KESS-FM Dallas, KAMA-FM Houston, and WADO New York City. The permit expired on January 15, 2013.

In June 2017, Univision agreed to sell KKMR for $500,000 to the Educational Media Foundation, which converted it to noncommercial operation. It originally was part of EMF's Air1 network. The sale was completed on November 16, 2017.

In 2019, EMF changed KKMR from Air1 to its K-Love network as part of a major switch of EMF stations and translators in Central Arizona.