KLIN

Our History

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KLIN: On the air since 1946
The Voice of Lincoln

KOLN radio went on the air in September 1946 and though we weren't Lincoln's first radio station, we did initiate some significant changes in Lincoln's broadcast industry.

KOLN brought to Lincoln it's first television station (still broadcasting under the old radio call letters, KOLN Channel 10). After changing the radio call letters to the current KLIN, we were also the first to successfully network University of Nebraska football to stations outside the state and as far away as California.

Some of our most famous KLIN alumni include: Walt Brown, Ron Dean, Jim Fagin, Don Gill, Joe Patrick, Jim Rose, Dan (the Weatherman) Staehr, Bob Zenner. Meanwhile, KLIN's Jane Monnich continues to deliver the latest news from the KLIN News Room as she has for the last 30 years.

Since the beginning, KLIN's studios were in downtown Lincoln. But in 1975, plans were unveiled for a self-contained broadcast studio at 44th and O. By 1976, KLIN and it's sister FM station (now B107.3) moved into Broadcast House. And no, it was never an actual residential home as some people in Lincoln might think. Owner Norton Warner designed the building specifically for KLIN and if you ever visit or work there, you feel like you're home.

In the old days, KLIN was a "full-service" music format with news, weather and sports. But just like everything else, radio (especially AM radio) evolved and KLIN was on the "cutting edge of societial evolution", as our good friend Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying. In fact, with the introduction of Rush's nationally syndicated radio program in 1988, KLIN shed it's old fashioned, tired format for more engaging programming and thus, news talk radio came to Lincoln. In fact, KLIN was one of the original, and to this day, longest active affiliates of Rush's E.I.B. Network.

Since then, KLIN has been proud to feature radio programming that grabs your attention and invites you to listen and participate - not to have on in the background as just mindless noise. From Lincoln's leading radio news room to Husker sports to engaging personalities like Rush, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, more and more of Lincoln is making the switch up to News Talk 1400 KLIN.

From the early 70's, KLIN was family owned and operated by Norton Warner, but in 2000, Broadcast House was sold to Triad Broadcasting of Monterey, California. Thanks to the investment of this ownership group, KLIN was able to increase its influence and importance in the community.

But our biggest achievement of the last five years came in 2004 when KLIN celebrated the construction and activation of a new transmitter tower in north Lincoln. For the first time since the early 1980's, KLIN was able to broadcast at it's maximum potential, reaching more of southeast Nebraska and providing a reliable nighttime signal for a growing Lincoln.

As of January 1, 2008, KLIN and its sister stations of Broadcast House became part of NRG Media, a Midwestern-based radio company.
B107.3 | Froggy 98.1 | WOW 105.3 | KLIN 1400