KWVR (1340 AM) is a radio stationlicensed to serve Enterprise, Oregon, United States. The station, established in 1960, and its FM sister stationKWVR-FM are currently owned by Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC. Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC, is wholly owned by family members Richard, Mary, and David Frasch.
Programming
KWVR broadcasts a news/talk radio format which features a mix of local and syndicated news, talk, sports, and information programming.[1]
This station began regular broadcast operations on June 1, 1960, serving Wallowa County, Oregon, with 250 watts of power on a frequency of 1340 kHz.[11] The station was assigned the KWVR call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on.[12] Original station owner Gene W. Wilson also served as company president, commercial manager, and general manager of KWVR.[11] Through the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, the station aired a mixed format of middle of the road and country & western music.[13]
A decade of change
Nearly fifteen years after construction on KWVR began, owner Gene W. Wilson agreed to sell the station to David D. Dirks in a deal that closed in November 1974.[14] Dirks continued the station's mix of MOR and country music through the end of the 1970s.
In November 1979, David D. Dirks reached an agreement to sell KWVR to High Valley East Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 27, 1979.[15] Just over two years later, in February 1982, High Valley East Broadcasting, Inc., contracted to sell this station to Tri Star Communications Corporation, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 5, 1982.[16]
The new owners filed an application with the FCC in November 1983 to increase the station's daytime signal strength from 250 to 1,000 watts.[17] The FCC granted KWVR a new construction permit on March 22, 1983, to allow the upgrade and adding a nighttime signal at 250 watts.[17]
The Perkins era
In June 1984, Tri Star Communications Corporation, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Wallowa Valley Radio Broadcasting Corporation, a company wholly owned by Lee D. Perkins and Carol-Lee Perkins, a married couple.[18] The deal was approved by the FCC on August 13, 1984, and the transaction was consummated on November 19, 1984.[19] In addition to splitting management and production duties as a couple, Lee Perkins also did play-by-play for local high school sports, not missing a game for more than 24 years until pneumonia forced a break in his streak in March 2008.[20] The Perkinses lived in the KWVR radio studio building until they sold the station in December 2008.[21]
The Frasch era
After nearly a quarter-century of continuous ownership, Wallowa Valley Radio Broadcasting Corporation reached an agreement in December 2008 to sell this station and its KWVR-FMsister station to Wallowa Valley Radio, LLC, for a combined sale price of $650,000.[22][23] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 27, 2009, and the transaction was consummated on March 1, 2009.[24]
On September 13, 2003, Lee Perkins was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters.[28][29] Citing his "significant and lasting contribution to Oregon broadcasting", the OAB presented the award to the man known as the "Voice of Wallowa County" at their annual conference in Portland, Oregon.[28][29]
Lee and Carol-Lee Perkins were chosen to preside as Grand Marshals of the 59th Annual Chief Joseph Days celebration in July 2004.[30] The annual event is held in Joseph, Oregon.[30]
^ ab"Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S.". 1961-1962 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1961. p. B-136.
^"Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
^"The Facilities of Radio". 1974 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1974. p. B-172.
^"The Facilities of Radio". 1979 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-180.
^Fletcher, Gary (December 16, 2008). "End of an era; Perkinses selling KWVR radio station". Le Grande Observer. The Perkinses are basically going to retire. They will move out of the radio station building where they have lived, and move into a new home that they've been building above the first hole of the Alpine Meadows Golf Course.
^Ellyn, Kathleen (December 18, 2008). "Retirement from Radio: After 25 years, Perkins family sells local station". Wallowa County Chieftain. Longtime local radio station owners and radio personalities Lee and Carol Lee Perkins announced Dec. 15 that Wallowa Radio KWVR has been sold to Richard, Mary and David Frasch of Chanhassen, Minn. and Enterprise.
^ abWilson, Rocky (September 21, 2003). "Gift of gab leads to statewide award". East Oregonian. Enterprise radio personality Lee Perkins was named Oregon State Broadcaster of the Year by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters at the OAB conference last Saturday night in Portland.
