A 100kW FM signal serving Nebraska’s panhandle south of Scottsbluff has switched from Adult Contemporary to Country, while its counterpart has switched to Classic Country.
Flood Communications’ KSID-FM/98.7 (Sidney) announced the switch to “987 The Big Boy” on Wednesday, May 5. The new slogan takes its name from a well-known type of steam locomotive that was used in the area during the 1940s and `50s.
Station Manager Hunter Arterburn hosts mornings on “The Big Boy” and the station will carry Saturday Husker football programming — all 12.5 hours of it — beginning this fall.
Meanwhile, KSID/1340 and K239BE/95.7 have tweaked their Country format to Classic Country as “Cheyenne County Country,” positioned as “we’re older than dirt.” The playlist focuses on the 1970s and `80s with some earlier songs.
Longtime announcer Randy Brown serves as morning host on “Cheyenne County Country.”
The stations’ online presence operates under Flood’s NewsChannelNebraska banner. Flood purchased the stations in late 2019, and Arteburn says in an article posted on the website that the changes come after a year of research and discussion with community leaders, business owners, agricultural producers, and listeners.
“We feel the new Country format, along with even more local news, more local sports and more market information, will serve and celebrate the ag and outdoor backbone of our region,” he said in the article.
KSID-FM’s signal is strong in parts of southwestern Nebraska and northeastern Colorado, with fringe coverage extending into Wyoming.
The KSID stations are the only strong commercial signals in Sidney, which also has several low-power/translator Christian radio signals. The area also receives several fringe Country signals from Scottsbluff and Colorado as well as a Contemporary Hits format from Colorado.