Townsquare Media has swapped formats on two of its Waterloo-market stations, sending its Country format to a larger regional signal.
On Wednesday, the “K98.5” Country format and KOEL-FM callsign moved to the former KKHQ/92.3 (Oelwein-Waterloo) as “K92.3.” Meanwhile, the “Q92.3” Contemporary Hits format became “Q98.5” on what is now KKHQ-FM/98.5 (Cedar Falls-Waterloo).
92.3 had carried Country for decades as KOEL-FM up until 2003, when a previous owner consolidated Country formats on 98.5 and brought Contemporary Hits back to the market on 92.3. Its 100kW/297m (class C0) signal transmitting from Oelwein has coverage of rural northeastern Iowa as well as a rimshot signal to Cedar Rapids.
98.5’s signal is more limited to the immediate Waterloo area with 15kW/129m (class C3).
The change marks the end of a unique era of five Contemporary Hits stations being available in Cedar Rapids. Besides the former “Q92.3,” KZIA, iHeart, and Townsquare all have local CHR formats in Cedar Rapids, and Townsquare’s Quad Cities CHR outlet also rimshots the city.