| KIRS | |
| Frequency: | 107.7 MHz |
| City: | Stockton, Missouri |
| Format: | Christian |
| Owner: | VCY America, Inc. |
| Erp: | 11,700 watts |
| Haat: | 146m (479feet) |
| Facility Id: | 78693 |
| Class: | C3 |
| Webcast: | Listen Live |
| Website: | http://www.vcyamerica.org/ |
| Former Callsigns: | KRLK (1998–2005) KRWP (2005–2019) |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
KIRS is a radio station licensed to Stockton, Missouri, broadcasting on 107.7 MHz FM. The station is owned by VCY America, Inc.[1]
The station signed on January 20, 1999,[2] as KRLK, broadcasting a classic country format branded as "The Lake".[3] Cumulus Media bought the station from Galen Gilbert for $850,000 in 2004.[4] The call letters changed to KRWP on February 2, 2005.[5] The station initially relied on programming from Jones Radio Networks;[3] in later years, KRWP was a full service station, with classic country music being supplemented with a tradio program and high school sports coverage.[6]
Cumulus' acquisition of the station was part of its plan to move KMAJ-FM, a Topeka, Kansas, radio station it owned on the same frequency, to the Kansas City market, which would have required KRWP to reduce its power. The KMAJ-FM move was called off in 2006, after Cumulus' purchase of Susquehanna Radio Corporation, as the move would have given it too many FM radio stations in Kansas City.[6]
On January 17, 2018, KRWP went off the air without any notice from Cumulus.[7] Cumulus had earlier indicated that, following the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of rules requiring a local main studio, KRWP would close its local facilities and transfer its operations to Cumulus' Kansas City studios.[6] VCY America agreed to buy the station for $100,000 on September 19, 2018; upon the completion of the sale, the station would convert to noncommercial operation and broadcast VCY's Christian radio programming.[8] The sale was consummated on January 10, 2019, at which point VCY America changed the station's call sign to KIRS.