| KKMR | |
| City: | Arizona City, Arizona |
| Area: | Phoenix metropolitan area |
| Branding: | K-Love |
| Frequency: | 106.5 MHz |
| Airdate: | (as KXMK at 106.3) |
| Format: | Contemporary Christian |
| Erp: | 860 watts |
| Haat: | 266m (873feet) |
| Class: | A |
| Facility Id: | 2740 |
| Coordinates: | 32.8344°N -111.6375°W |
| Callsign Meaning: | Derived from former Spanish; Castilian: Amor format, which was used from previous owner |
| Former Frequencies: | 106.3 MHz (1986–1997) |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
| Owner: | Educational Media Foundation |
| Sister Stations: | KLVA, KLVK |
| Website: | klove.com |
KKMR (106.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Arizona City, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and it airs a Christian Contemporary radio format, as part of the K-Love network.
KKMR is a Class A station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 860 watts. The transmitter is on East Hanna Road in Eloy.[1]
The station signed on the air on April 13, 1985.[2] Its original call sign was KXMK and it broadcast at 106.3 MHz. The original owner was the Sonoro Broadcasting Company. FM 106.3 spent most of its early time on the air simulcasting other stations, especially former co-channel station KOMR.
The stations aired a classical music format in the early 1990s, with this station bearing the KONZ call letters. It later shared KEDJ's modern rock format. In 1997, it moved one spot up the Phoenix radio dial and began stints as an adult album alternative (AAA) station and an oldies outlet before returning to simulcasting KEDJ in 1999.
In 2001, Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation acquired the station and changed it to a Spanish-language adult contemporary format called "Spanish; Castilian: Amor". It was a simulcast with 106.5 KOMR and 100.3 KQMR. The station was assigned the KKMR call letters by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 13, 2002.[3] In October 2005, Univision adjusted the "Spanish; Castilian: Amor" format, making it more oldies-driven, and changed the name to "Spanish; Castilian: Recuerdo".
The station applied for an FCC construction permit in 2000 for a power increase to class C3. It was granted in 2010 after much modification and application tweaking. This was overseen by the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation's engineering department, which also secured other upgrades such as KESS-FM in Dallas, KAMA-FM in Houston, and WADO in New York City. The permit expired on January 15, 2013.
In June 2017, Univision agreed to sell KKMR for $500,000 to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which converted it to noncommercial operation. It originally was part of EMF's Air1 network. The sale was completed on November 16, 2017. In 2019, EMF changed KKMR from Air1 to its K-Love network as part of a major switch of EMF stations and translators in Central Arizona.