K/W Call Letters in the United States



Thomas H. White -- January 1, 2020



Background



Reasons For The Exceptions

Stations located east of the Mississippi which were assigned calls from the KD-- ship block, instead of W--, during a June 1920 to April 1921 anomaly. (For some reason, during this anomaly almost all new land stations, east and west, got KU-- or KD-- four-letter calls. This included two broadcasting stations that just happened to be first licenced during this time: KDKA and KDPM).



Stations west of the Mississippi River that were licenced before the late January 1923 boundary shift, and were located in the slice of W territory that existed west of the Mississippi prior to the shift. (Originally about 170 stations, not including Minnesota and Louisiana. However, due to very high deletion rates plus later call changes, only eleven of these original calls survive: WEW, WHB, WKY, WOC, WOI, WBAP, WDAY, WJAG, WNAX, WOAI, and WTAW).



Portable stations (prior to 1928), which got W call letters because their original owners were located east of the Mississippi, but settled in a permanent home west of the Mississippi. (Four stations: WBBZ, WIBW, WLBN, and WMBH. There are no examples of a portable crossing in the other direction, i.e. no K portables "anchoring" in W territory).



Regular stations that changed their community of licence to the other side of the K/W divide. (Eight stations: KFKX, KSGM, KWEM, WKBB, WPLX, KOTC, KQQZ and WGNU. NOTE: This omits Louisiana and Minnesota.)



Owner requests--examples: WACO in Waco, Texas; WDBQ in Dubuque, Iowa; WMT (Waterloo [Iowa] Morning Tribune).



Assigned by the Government--three stations. KTGG in Spring Arbor (later Okemos), Michigan reportedly got a "K" callsign because someone at the FCC thought that the "MI" postal code stood for Missouri, a west-of-the-Mississippi state. Also, two additional call assignments appear to have been selected by government regulators: KYWA Chicago, a booster station for KYW, and KOP, licenced to the Detroit Police Department.

29 Current AM-band K/W Boundary Exceptions (excluding LA & MN)

Purple: 1920-1921 anomaly--KDKA. Blue: pre-January 1923 boundary shift--WBAP, WDAY, WEW, WHB, WJAG, WKY, WNAX, WOAI, WOC, WOI, WTAW. Gray: ex-portable--WBBZ, WIBW, WMBH. Dark Green: moved to other side of the Mississippi-- KSGM, KQQZ, WGNU. Red: requested call--KFNS, KWAM, WDBQ, WHO, WMT, WSUI, KFTK, WGUE. Light Green: government assigned call--KTGG. Black: reason unknown--KFIZ, KQV, KYW.

This map summarizes the current location of W and K stations on the AM band, by state. Yellow highlights the sixteen states mostly in the center of the country which currently have both K and W stations. In the west, in red, are the twelve states (including Hawaii), which have only had stations starting with K. Green designates the single state--Alaska--which had a W station in the past, but now has K stations exclusively. Light blue marks the two states--Mississippi and Ohio--which once had one or more K stations, but now exclusively have W stations. Finally, dark blue marks the nineteen eastern states which have only had W calls.



K/W Trivia

Boundary Switchover Date

Double Exceptions

U.S. Commonwealths, Territories and Possessions

Extremes

K/W Switchover Stations



State-by-State Chronological Recap

1. June 1920-April, 1921 anomaly (KD-- calls for all)

2. West-of-the-Mississippi W territory (i.e. prior to the late-January, 1923 shift)

3. Portable station which a found permanent home on the opposite side of the Mississippi

4. Regular station that moved across the Mississippi

5. Call requested by owner

6. Government call assignment

?. Unknown reason

REASON NOTES ====== ================== ALASKA (always K) 09/27/1922 WLAY Fairbanks ? deleted 08/21/1923 NOTE: This list only includes private stations, so the various government operated facilities in Alaska, such as WVCX Sitka, WXLL Big Delta and WCVQ Kodiak, are not included. ARKANSAS (W prior to late January 1923) 02/16/1922 WOK Pine Bluff 2 deleted 06/--/1924 03/28/1922 WSV Little Rock 2 deleted 11/06/1922 05/04/1922 WCAC Fort Smith 2 deleted 06/12/1923 05/13/1922 WCAV Little Rock 2 deleted 03/11/1925 06/06/1922 WEAX Little Rock 2 deleted 06/11/1923 06/26/1922 WGAR Fort Smith 2 deleted 11/26/1923 03/--/1928 WLBN Little Rock 3 x-Chicago portable. Became KLRA 6/--/1928, deleted 9/--/1997 as KSYG --/--/2008 WPLX Turrell 4 moved from Germantown, TN, became KXIQ-1180 03/06/2012 (see next 2) 01/15/2014 WUMY Turrell 5 changed from KXIQ (see above+below) 11/30/2017 WGUE Turrell 5 changed from WUMY (see above 2) WGUE-1180 Turrell ILLINOIS (always W) 11/09/1921 KYW Chicago ? became KYW-KFKX 10/01/1928 (see) 11/--/1922 KFLV Rockford ? became WROK 11/--/1933, WROK-1440 10/01/1928 KYW-KFKX Chicago 4 KFKX was moved from Hastings, NE and consolidated with KYW (see 11/09/1921). KFKX was then dropped from the call on 05/13/1933. KYW later moved to Philadelphia, PA 12/11/1934 (see). 12/--/1928 KYWA Chicago 6 booster transmitter for KYW. deleted 05/--/1930 --/--/1964 KSGM Chester 4 moved from Sainte Genevieve, MO. KSGM-980 01/29/1991 KEZK Wood River 5 changed from WCEO, see next. 07/09/1993 KFNS Wood River 5 changed from KEZK, see above. KFNS-590 09/16/2016 KFTK East St. Louis 5 changed from WQQX. KFTK-1490 12/05/2016 KQQZ Fairview Heights4 moved from DeSoto, MO. IOWA (W prior to late January 1923) 03/14/1922 WGF Des Moines 2 deleted 09/29/1923 03/28/1922 WHX Des Moines 2 deleted 05/--/1922 04/28/1922 WOI Ames 2 WOI-640 Ames 05/09/1922 WOC Davenport 2 WOC-1420 (call was transferred to x-KICK 11/11/34) 05/23/1922 WDAX Centerville 2 deleted 01/03/1924 05/25/1922 WEAB Fort Dodge 2 deleted 10/30/1923 06/03/1922 WEAU Sioux City 2 deleted 04/28/1927 06/06/1922 WEAZ Waterloo 2 deleted 11/27/1922 06/23/1922 WGAJ Shenandoah 2 deleted 05/21/1923 06/26/1922 WHAA Iowa City 2 became WSUI 01/29/1925 (see) 06/30/1922 WHAC Waterloo 2 deleted 12/13/1923 06/30/1922 WHAE Sioux City 2 deleted 06/23/1923 07/--/1922 WIAS Burlington 2 deleted 02/--/1934 (Ottumwa) 07/--/1922 WKAA Cedar Rapids 2 became KWCR 11/--/1925, now KXNO-1460 07/--/1922 WHAI Davenport 2 deleted 12/--/1923 07/--/1922 WIAU Le Mars 2 deleted 05/--/1924 07/--/1922 WIAH Newton 2 deleted 12/--/1923 07/--/1922 WIAE Vinton 2 deleted 06/--/1923 08/01/1922 WJAM Cedar Rapids 2 became WMT 11/11/1928 (see) 09/--/1922 WLAT Burlington 2 deleted 01/--/1924 09/--/1922 WNAG Cresco 2 deleted 01/--/1923 09/--/1922 WLAR Marshalltown 2 deleted 02/--/1923 09/--/1922 WMAR Waterloo 2 deleted 06/--/1923 10/--/1922 WPAF Council Bluffs 2 deleted 10/--/1923 10/--/1922 WOAD Sigourney 2 deleted 05/--/1924 12/--/1922 WQAK Dubuque 2 deleted 10/--/1923 12/--/1922 WRAN Waterloo 2 deleted 05/--/1925 04/15/1924 WHO Des Moines 5 WHO-1040 Des Moines 01/29/1925 WSUI Iowa City 5 changed from WHAA, see 06/26/1922. WSUI-910 11/11/1928 WMT Waterloo 5 changed from WJAM, see 08/01/1922. WMT-600, Cedar Rapids 12/--/1939 WKBB Dubuque 4 moved from East Dubuque, IL-- see next. 03/15/1951 WDBQ Dubuque 5 changed from WKBB, see previous. WDBQ-1490 Dubuque 06/06/2002 WSJZ Des Moines 5 changed from KBGG, call changed back to KBGG-1700 6/18/2002 KANSAS (W prior to late January 1923) 03/28/1922 WAH El Dorado 2 deleted 03/06/1923 03/23/1922 WEY Wichita 2 deleted 06/23/1923 04/05/1922 WBL Anthony 2 deleted 12/15/1924 04/06/1922 WTG Manhattan 2 deleted 12/19/1925 04/13/1922 WAAZ Emporia 2 deleted 01/28/1924 04/14/1922 WAAP Wichita 2 deleted 10/15/1923 05/15/1922 WDAD Lindsborg 2 deleted 11/07/1923 05/25/1922 WEAD Atwood 2 deleted 08/13/1923 05/26/1922 WEAH Wichita 2 became KFH 12/--/1925. Now KNSS-1330 06/08/1922 WFAD Salina 2 deleted 03/08/1923 06/17/1922 WFAY Independence 2 deleted 04/09/1923 07/--/1922 WHAN Wichita 2 deleted 11/--/1922 08/--/1922 WJAQ Topeka 2 deleted 07/--/1924 09/--/1922 WLAS Hutchinson 2 deleted 06/--/1923 09/--/1922 WMAG Liberal 2 deleted 06/--/1923 10/--/1922 WNAK Manhattan 2 deleted 04/--/1923 11/--/1922 WOAJ Parsons 2 deleted 01/--/1924 11/--/1922 WPAM Topeka 2 deleted 10/--/1924 12/--/1922 WPAR Beloit 2 deleted 12/--/1924 01/--/1923 WRAD Marion 2 deleted 03/--/1924 04/--/1927 WREN Lawrence 5 became KKGM 07/30/1999, now KYYS-1250 Kansas City 01/--/1928 WIBW Topeka 3 x-Chicago portable. WIBW-580 Topeka 05/--/1928 WLBF Kansas City moved from Kansas City, MO (see 11/--/1926), became KCKN 11/--/1936. Now KDTD-1340. 01/19/2007 WDAF Kansas City 5 Call changed from KXTR. 2/12/2007 returned to KXTR, now KWOD-1660. LOUISIANA (W before late January 1923, split afterwards) NOTE: I have not prepared a detailed list for Louisiana, because the Mississippi River runs through the state, so the K/W boundary has not been strictly followed. MICHIGAN (always W) 03/18/1922 KOP Detroit 6 deleted 11/28/25 04/23/1923 KFGZ Barrien Springs ? became WEMC 01/26/1925, now WKZO-590 Kalamazoo 10/--/1923 KFLB Menominee ? deleted 06/--/1925 12/--/1923 KFMW Houghton ? deleted 06/--/1926 08/15/1985 KTGG Spring Arbor 6 KTGG-1540 Okemos MINNESOTA (W before late January 1923, split afterwards) NOTE: I have not prepared a detailed list for Minnesota. The Mississippi River runs through the state, so the K/W boundary has not been strictly followed. This is particularly true in the northern part of the state, where the demarcation has been somewhat vague, because the Mississippi doesn't go all the way to the Canadian border. MISSISSIPPI (always W) 01/--/1924 KFNG Coldwater ? changed to WREC 06/--/1925. Later moved to Whitehaven, TN, then Memphis. WREC-600 Memphis MISSOURI (W prior to late January 1923) 02/17/1922 WOQ Kansas City 2 deleted 06/14/1934 02/23/1922 WOS Jefferson City 2 deleted 03/27/1936 03/23/1922 WEW Saint Louis 2 WEW-770 Saint Louis 04/03/1922 WCK Saint Louis 2 became WSBF 06/--/1925 (see) 04/05/1922 WEB Saint Louis 2 became WIL 01/--/1925 (see) 04/05/1922 WPE Kansas City 2 relicenced as KFIX 07/03/1923, now KMBZ-980 Kansas City 04/12/1922 WAAE Saint Louis 2 deleted 09/23/1922 04/13/1922 WAAN Columbia 2 deleted 03/16/1925 05/10/1922 WHB Kansas City 2 WHB-810 Kansas City 05/16/1922 WDAF Kansas City 2 became KCSP-610 09/23/2003 05/31/1922 WEAK Saint Joseph 2 deleted 09/26/1923 06/10/1922 WFAK Brentwood 2 deleted 09/--/1922 06/14/1922 WFAQ Cameron 2 deleted 06/13/1924 07/--/1922 WHAH Joplin 2 deleted 09/--/1924 07/--/1922 WJAC Joplin 2 deleted 01/--/1923 07/--/1922 WIAI Springfield 2 deleted 06/--/1924 07/--/1922 WIAT Tarkio 2 deleted 12/--/1923 08/--/1922 WLAB Carrollton 2 deleted 10/--/1922 08/--/1922 WJAT Marshall 2 deleted 06/--/1924 08/--/1922 WMAD Rockport 2 deleted 07/--/1923 08/--/1922 WKAS Springfield 2 deleted 12/--/1923 09/--/1922 WMAJ Kansas City 2 deleted 06/--/1924 10/--/1922 WNAR Butler 2 deleted 11/--/1925 10/--/1922 WMAY Saint Louis 2 deleted 06/--/1931 11/--/1922 WOAL Webster Groves 2 deleted 02/--/1924 11/29/1922 WPAG Independence 2 deleted 01/05/1923 12/02/1922 WQAB Springfield 2 deleted 11/11/1923 01/--/1923 WRAO Saint Louis 2 deleted 02/--/1925 01/16/1923 WSAB Cape Girardeau 2 deleted 07/17/1925 01/--/1925 WIL Saint Louis 5 changed from WEB--see 04/05/1922, 12/04/1990, 6/29/2005 06/--/1925 WSBF Saint Louis 5 changed from WCK, see 04/03/1922. deleted 11/30/1928. 11/--/1926 WLBF Kansas City ? moved to Kansas City, KS 05/--/1928 (see) 07/--/1927 WMBH Joplin 3 x-portable from Chicago, became KQYX 07/25/2001 (see). KQYX-1450 Galena, KS 12/04/1990 WRTH Saint Louis 5 changed from WIL--see 01/--/1925, 06/29/2005. 02/01/1994 WKBQ Saint Louis 5 changed from KASP. Changed to KRAM 02/22/1995, back to WKBQ 03/21/1996, to KKWK 02/16/1998, now KXFN-1380 07/25/2001 WMBH Joplin 5 changed from KQYX, see 07/--/1925. WMBH-1560 06/29/2005 WIL Saint Louis 5 changed from WRTH, became KZQZ 03/05/2008. See 12/04/1990. Now KZQZ-1430 11/09/2018 WGNU Saint Louis 4 moved from Granite City, IL. WGNU-920 (NOTE: KSD, Saint Louis (now KTRS-550), first licenced 03/14/1922, should have been a W call, since it came before the January 1923 shift) NEBRASKA (W prior to late January 1923) 12/29/1921 WOU Omaha 2 deleted 06/23/1923 03/30/1922 WDV Omaha 2 deleted 02/07/1923 04/19/1922 WAAW Omaha 2 became KOWH 04/--/1939, now KCRO-660 05/06/1922 WCAJ University Place2 deleted 08/01/1933 06/03/1922 WEAV Rushville 2 deleted 06/23/1923 06/16/1922 WFAV Lincoln 2 deleted 04/30/1927 06/26/1922 WGAT Lincoln 2 deleted 04/09/1923 07/--/1922 WIAX Lincoln 2 deleted 02/--/1923 07/--/1922 WJAB Lincoln 2 deleted 02/--/1925 07/--/1922 WKAC Lincoln 2 deleted 09/--/1923 07/--/1922 WIAK Omaha 2 deleted 07/--/1925 07/27/1922 WJAG Norfolk 2 WJAG-780 Norfolk 08/--/1922 WKAM Hastings 2 deleted 12/--/1922 08/--/1922 WLAD Hastings 2 deleted 12/--/1922 08/--/1922 WLAF Lincoln 2 deleted 02/--/1923 08/--/1922 WMAH Lincoln 2 deleted 03/--/1925 08/22/1922 WNAL Omaha 2 deleted 09/--/1928 09/22/1922 WOAE Fremont 2 deleted 01/06/1925 10/--/1922 WRAR David City 2 deleted 10/--/1923 10/--/1922 WSAS Lincoln 2 deleted 04/--/1923 10/--/1922 WPAA Wahoo 2 deleted 06/--/1923 11/27/1922 WOAW Omaha 2 became WOW 12/16/1926 (see) 11/--/1922 WTAU Tecumseh 2 deleted 06/--/1925 12/--/1922 WQAY Hastings 2 deleted 08/--/1923 12/16/1926 WOW Omaha 5 changed from WOAW--see 11/27/1922, be- came KOMJ 11/22/1999, now KXSP-590 NORTH DAKOTA (W prior to late January 1923) 05/23/1922 WDAY Fargo 2 WDAY-970 Fargo 08/--/1922 WKAJ Fargo 2 deleted 11/--/1922 10/--/1922 WOAB Grand Forks 2 deleted 10/--/1923 10/--/1922 WMAW Wahpeton 2 deleted 04/--/1924 12/14/1922 WPAK Fargo 2 deleted 05/09/1927 01/19/1923 WRAC Mayville 2 deleted 06/15/1923 OHIO (always W) 07/--/1922 KDPM Cleveland 1 deleted 1/--/1926 (first assigned this call as a non-broadcast station on 02/--/1921) 02/13/1956 KYW Cleveland 5 changed from WTAM, later changed to WKYC 06/19/65 (see Philadelphia, PA). Now WTAM-1100. OKLAHOMA (W prior to late January 1923) 03/16/1922 WKY Oklahoma City 2 WKY-930 Oklahoma City 03/29/1922 WEH Tulsa 2 deleted 06/12/1923 05/23/1922 WDAV Muskogee 2 deleted 01/15/1923 06/14/1922 WEH Tulsa 2 deleted 06/11/1923 06/19/1922 WGAF Tulsa 2 deleted 11/20/1922 07/--/1922 WHAT Yale 2 deleted 11/--/1922 08/--/1922 WKAK Okemah 2 deleted 06/--/1923 09/--/1922 WOAA Ardmore 2 deleted 12/--/1923 09/26/1922 WNAD Norman 2 became WWLS 12/07/1981 (see) 09/--/1922 WMAB Oklahoma City 2 deleted 06/--/1924 09/--/1922 WLAL Tulsa 2 deleted 04/--/1927 (?) 09/--/1922 WNAF Enid 2 deleted 02/--/1923 11/--/1922 WPAC Okmulgee 2 deleted 01/--/1925 07/--/1928 WBBZ Ponca City 3 x-portable from Chicago. WBBZ-1230 12/07/1981 WWLS Moore 5 changed from WNAD, see 09/26/1922. Became KWPN-640 04/04/2012 PENNSYLVANIA (always W) 10/27/1920 KDKA East Pittsburgh 1 KDKA-1020 Pittsburgh 01/09/1922 KQV Pittsburgh ? KQV-1410 Pittsburgh (first assigned this call as a non-broadcast station on 10/--/1921) 12/11/1934 KYW Philadelphia station moved from Chicago, IL 12/11/1934. KYW call transferred to Cleveland, OH 02/13/1956. X-KYW became WRCV. Station became KYW again 06/19/1965. SOUTH DAKOTA (W prior to late January 1923) 05/09/1922 WCAT Rapid City 2 deleted 10/28/1952 05/27/1922 WEAJ Vermillion 2 became KUSD 10/--/1925, deleted 11/--/1994 06/14/1922 WFAT Sioux Falls 2 deleted 06/13/1924 08/08/1922 WJAU Yankton 2 deleted 01/02/1923 11/--/1922 WNAX Yankton 2 WNAX-570 Yankton TENNESSEE (always W) --/--/1953 KWEM Memphis 4 moved from West Memphis, AR-- see next. 03/31/1959 KWAM Memphis 5 call change from KWEM-- see above. Now KWAM-990. 12/--/2011 KOTC Memphis 4 moved from Kennett, MO. Became WUMY 11/18/2013. WUMY-830 TEXAS (W prior to late January 1923) 03/16/1922 WPA Fort Worth 2 deleted 05/24/1923 03/22/1922 WCM Austin 2 relicenced as KUT 10/30/1925, now KTSN-1490 Austin 03/13/1922 WRR Dallas 2 became KAAM 04/14/1978. Now KTCK-1310. (First assigned the WRR call as a non-broadcast station on 08/05/1921) 03/23/1922 WEV Houston 2 deleted 01/10/1925 03/29/1922 WTK Paris 2 deleted 11/20/1922 04/26/1922 WBAP Fort Worth 2 WBAP-820 Fort Worth, TX 05/06/1922 WCAK Houston 2 deleted 01/10/1925 05/09/1922 WCAR San Antonio 2 became KTSA 02/--/1927 (?), now KTSA-550 05/16/1922 WDAG Amarillo 2 merged 06/04/1935 with KGRS as KGNC. Now KGNC-710 05/16/1922 WDAH El Paso 2 deleted 10/01/1940 05/19/1922 WDAO Dallas 2 deleted 06/--/1924 06/05/1922 WFAA Dallas 2 became KRQX 11/--/83, now KLIF-570 06/06/1922 WEAY Houston 2 deleted 10/24/1925 06/09/1922 WFAH Port Arthur 2 deleted 08/27/1924 06/12/1922 WFAL Houston 2 deleted 11/17/1922 06/14/1922 WGAB Houston 2 deleted 03/23/1923 06/12/1922 WFAL Houston 2 deleted 11/17/1922 06/29/1922 WHAB Galveston 2 deleted 06/--/1924 07/--/1922 WIAC Galveston 2 deleted 01/--/1925 07/--/1922 WJAE San Antonio 2 deleted 02/--/1923 07/--/1922 WJAD Waco 2 became WACO 02/--/1930 (see) 07/--/1922 WKAF Wichita Falls 2 deleted 11/--/1925 08/--/1922 WMAM Beaumont 2 deleted 10/--/1923 08/--/1922 WKAL Orange 2 deleted 06/--/1923 08/--/1922 WLAJ Waco 2 deleted 06/--/1924 09/--/1922 WQAQ Abilene 2 deleted 01/--/1925 09/--/1922 WRAU Amarillo 2 deleted 11/--/1923 09/--/1922 WPAN Houston 2 deleted 12/--/1922 09/--/1922 WOAI San Antonio 2 WOAI-1200 San Antonio 10/--/1922 WNAS Austin 2 deleted 06/--/1924 10/07/1922 WTAW College Station 2 WTAW-1620 College Station 10/--/1922 WSAV Houston 2 deleted 09/--/1925 10/--/1922 WWAX Laredo 2 deleted 11/--/1923 10/--/1922 WWAC Waco 2 deleted 06/--/1924 11/04/1922 WOAF Tyler 2 deleted 04/10/1925 11/--/1922 WOAZ Stamford 2 deleted 11/--/1923 11/21/1922 WRAA Houston 2 deleted 07/15/1925 12/--/1922 WPAT El Paso 2 deleted 06/--/1924 12/--/1922 WQAC Amarillo 2 became KGRS 11/--/1926, merged 06/04/1935 with WDAG as KGNC. Now KGNC-710. 12/--/1922 WSAT Plainview 2 deleted 06/--/1924 02/--/1930 WACO Waco 5 changed from WJAD, see 07/--/1922. Became KKTK 06/24/1996. Now KCLE-1460 Burleson WISCONSIN (always W) 07/--/1923 KFIZ Fond Du Lac ? KFIZ-1450 Fond du Lac 02/24/1982 KXTP Superior 5 changed from WAKX. Became WGEE 05/01/2003, now WDUL-970