WKKM-LP explained

WKKM
City:Harrison, Michigan
Format:Christian radio
Coordinates:44.0172°N -84.7989°W
Owner:Hope Baptist Church of Harrison
Erp:83 watts
Haat:32.905 meters
Facility Id:193246
Callsign Meaning:Heritage call sign in Harrison, previously used by 92.1 FM and 1540 AM. Now, King of Kings Media

WKKM-LP is an American low-power FM radio station, licensed to the city of Harrison, Michigan. The station operates on a frequency of 106.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 83 watts. The station is owned by Hope Baptist Church of Harrison; studios, offices and transmitter facilities are at 209 East Spruce Street in Harrison.

History

WKKM's origins in Harrison date back to 1975, when Detroit radio personality and engineer David Allan Carmine (best known professionally as Dave Carr) moved his family from Detroit to Harrison to start a radio station there. Harrison did not have a local radio station on the air serving the immediate area, so Carmine applied for the frequency of 92.1. Carmine signed on the air with a country format, billing it as "The Country King" and "The Mighty 92" and kept it under this format until he sold the station in 2002, choosing to retire. That station, known today as WTWS, was later re-licensed to Houghton Lake, Michigan, and its new sister station, WUPS, was re-licensed to Harrison, though it has no physical presence there.

In 2002, Carmine formed "The Country King, Incorporated" as a non-profit entity, with the intent of starting a non-commercial educational station in Harrison.

The WKKM call letters then bounced around to a non-commercial station in Imlay City after the sale, then Alpena and finally back to Harrison, where they resurfaced at 90.7 MHz, known today as WBHL, part of the Strong Tower Radio network. From 2008 to 2011, that station was licensed to "The Country King, Incorporated", also owned by Carmine. It, too, boasted the country music format that its predecessor in 1975 pioneered. In 2011, that station was sold and its power increased to 10,000 watts.

The current low-power incarnation of WKKM first went on the air September 18, 2014, under the licensee "The Country King, Incorporated", and was owned by Carmine. The station does not have a social media page or website at this time. The license was applied for in October 2013 and granted by the FCC in January 2014.

In May 2024, Hope Baptist Church of Harrison purchased the station from Country King, Incorporated.