KQLA "Q Country 103.5" is a radio station licensed to Ogden, Kansas. It broadcasts to the Junction City-Manhattan-Fort Riley area broadcasting on 103.5 MHz with an ERP of 41,000 Watts. The station is owned by Eagle Communications, which also owns stations KJCK and KJCK-FM, as well as 25 radio stations throughout Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri.
History
KQLA went on the air on the evening of February 14, 1986, with a Top 40 format, and competed against KJCK-FM and KMKF.. It was owned by Kaw Valley Broadcasting Company. KQLA originally began broadcasting on 103.9 MHz at 3,000 Watts and was branded "Q-104". The station was licensed to Ogden, Kansas, a small community situated between Manhattan and Junction City near Fort Riley. In 1991, KQLA switched frequencies with KNZA, a station in Hiawatha located on 103.5 MHz. The station was sold to Platinum Broadcasting on August 1, 1997 and it switched to a Hot AC format. It featured the "Young AC" programming from ABC Radio, which was satellite-fed. This lasted until 2005 when the owners cut the satellite feed and focused on local DJs and moved towards an adult contemporary format. KQLA was the local affiliate for "Intelligence for Your Life" with John Tesh, Tom Kent's programs, "The 70's w/ Steve Goddard", "American Top 10 w/ Casey Kasem", "American Gold w/ Dick Bartley", and "The Retro Pop Reunion w/ Joe Cortese". During its tenure as an AC station, KQLA played Christmas music between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. On October 6, 2011, Platinum Broadcasting announced it was ceasing operations and that KQLA, along with its sister stations, would be sold to Hays-based Eagle Communications, pending FCC approval. The sale was approved on December 15, 2011. On July 25, 2013, KQLA dropped its Adult Contemporary format and began stunting with Christmas music. On July 29, 2013, at 6 AM, after playing "The Christmas Song" by Al Jarreau, KQLA flipped to country, branded as "Q Country 103.5."
In December 2015, Eagle announced it would acquire translator K224EX from the University of Kansas, and would activate HD Radio services for KQLA, with the translator being utilized to re-broadcast an HD sub-channel for the station. On March 16, 2016, Eagle signed on the translator, which airs an active rock format branded as Q-Rock 92.7, and competed against Manhattan Broadcasting Company's KMKF. The translator's transmitter is di-plexed with KQLA's transmitter, which is located on Bagdad Hill on the southwest side of Manhattan. The translator signal is slightly nulled to the west to avoid co-channel interference with KZUH in Salina. At midnight on April 15, 2019, after playing “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll” by Ozzy Osbourne, KQLA-HD2/K224EX flipped to classic hits as Q-Prime 92.7. The first song under the new format was “Things Can Only Get Better” by Howard Jones.
