| KIBM | |
| City: | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Area: | Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area |
| Branding: | Boomer Radio |
| Translators: | |
| Airdate: | (as KBON) |
| Format: | Oldies |
| Power: | 970 watts day 900 watts night |
| Class: | C |
| Facility Id: | 74104 |
| Coordinates: | 41.2331°N -95.9672°W |
| Callsign Meaning: | "Boomer" |
| Affiliations: | Chicago Cubs Omaha Beef |
| Owner: | Steven Seline |
| Licensee: | Walnut Radio, LLC |
| Website: | myboomerradio.com |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
KIBM (1490 AM) is a commercial radio station in Omaha, Nebraska, serving the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. KIBM airs an oldies radio format known as "Boomer Radio." It is owned and operated by Steven Seline, through licensee Walnut Radio, LLC. The studios and offices are on Burt Street in Omaha.
KIBM is powered at 970 watts during the day and 900 watts at night, using a non-directional antenna. The transmitter is near South 38th Street and Wright Street in the Hanscom Park neighborhood near Downtown Omaha.[1] Programming is also heard on two FM translators at 94.5 and 104.1 MHz in Omaha.
The station signed on the air in .[2] The original call sign was KBON and the power was 250 watts, a fraction of its current output. It was owned by Inland Broadcasting and was a network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System.
After 28 years as KBON, the station changed to KLNG on July 1, 1970. By early 1977, KLNG identified as "Newsradio 149". However, on June 1 of that year, KLNG became KYNN and took on a country music format. On April 9, 1985, at 6 a.m., the station flipped to oldies as KEDS. Due to poor ratings, on July 2, 1987, KEDS dropped the oldies format and began simulcasting the album rock format on KEZO-FM. The station took the call sign KEZO.
The simulcast lasted until the early 1990s, when KEZO flipped to sports radio, the first station of its kind in the Omaha market. It adopted the KOSR call sign in March 1996. The sports format continued until April 25, 2005, when then-sister station KOMJ (590 AM) swapped formats, with 1490 adopting KOMJ's adult standards format and call letters.
The Journal Broadcast Group sold the station to Cochise Radio Partners in 2007, and the intention was for KOMJ's studios to be relocated. But on August 1, 2013, an FCC agent attempted to inspect the studios of KOMJ. The on-file address, 10714 Mockingbird Drive, is the studio for Journal's television station, KMTV-TV and their then-radio sisters, and had never been changed, despite Cochise's full relocation of the station. Journal did not lease a studio out to Cochise as part of the sale. Less than a year later, in March 2014, the FCC fined Cochise $17,000, citing with KOMJ's failure to maintain access to their public file (which Journal also did not have on hand) as part of the studio address violation.
On October 17, 2014, Cochise announced the sale of KOMJ to Walnut Radio, LLC for $450,000. The sale between Cochise and Walnut closed on January 2, 2015. Five days later, the station dropped the middle of the road music from its format for adult standards, classic hits, and oldies.
At exactly 6:00 p.m. on January 7, "Boomer 1490" (a nod to baby boomers, its core demographic) was officially launched with a live listening party at Gorat's Steakhouse in Omaha. The first song played under the new Boomer format was "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys. In June of that year, long time radio legend Dave Wingert became the new Morning Show host. In May 2016, an FM translator was added on 104.1 FM, giving the station an AM/FM combo. The station is now known as "Boomer Radio."
The call sign was changed to KOBM on December 11, 2018. On April 1, 2019, the station changed its call sign to KIBM, with the KOBM call sign moving to 1420 AM (the former KOTK).[3]
In addition to the main station, KIBM is relayed by two FM translators in the core Omaha metro and suburbs.