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KLIN History

KOLN radio went on the air in September 1946 and though we weren’t Lincoln’s first radio station, we did initiate some significant changes in Lincoln’s broadcast industry.

KOLN brought to Lincoln its first television station (still broadcasting under the old radio call letters, KOLN Channel 10). After changing the radio call letters to the current KLIN, we were also the first to successfully network University of Nebraska football to stations outside the state and as far away as California.

Since the beginning, KLIN’s studios were in downtown Lincoln, but in the early 70’s, plans were unveiled for a new home at 44th and O Street. By 1976, KLIN and it’s sister FM station (now B107.3) moved into Broadcast House. And no, it was never an actual residential home as some people in Lincoln might think. Owner Norton Warner designed the building specifically for radio studios and if you ever visit or work there, you feel like you’re home. Today, Broadcast House is home of KLIN and its four FM sister stations, B107.3, Froggy 98.1, 105.3 The Bone and Red 94|5.

In the old days, KLIN was a full-service music format with news, weather and sports. But just like everything else, radio (especially AM radio) evolved and KLIN was on the “cutting edge of societial evolution” as our good friend Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying. In fact, with the introduction of Rush’s nationally syndicated radio program in 1988, KLIN shed it’s old fashioned, tired format for more engaging programming and thus, news-talk radio came to Lincoln. In fact, KLIN was one of the original, and to this day, longest active affiliates of Rush’s E.I.B. Network.

Since then, KLIN has been proud to feature radio programming that grabs your attention and invites you to listen and participate – not to have on in the background as just noise. From Lincoln’s leading radio news room to Husker sports to engaging personalities like Jack Mitchell, Kaleb Henry, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Mark Levin more and more of Lincoln is making the switch up to Lincoln’s Only News and Talk, 1400 & 99.3 KLIN.

From the early 70’s, KLIN was family owned and operated by Norton Warner but in 2000, Broadcast House was sold to Triad Broadcasting of Monterey, California. Thanks to the investment of this ownership group, KLIN was able to increase its influence and importance in the community.

That was never more apparent than in 2004 when KLIN celebrated the construction and activation of a new transmitter tower in north Lincoln. For the first time nearly 30 years, KLIN was able to broadcast at it’s maximum potential, reaching more of southeast Nebraska and providing a reliable nighttime signal for a growing Lincoln.

On January 1, 2008, KLIN and its sister stations of Broadcast House became part of NRG Media, a Midwestern-based radio company.

Some of our most famous KLIN alumni include: Walt Brown, Lita Powell Drake, Ron Dean, Jim Fagin, Don Gill, Joe Patrick, Dick Perry, Jim Rose, John Bishop, Dan (the Weatherman) Staehr, Bob Zenner, Coby Mach and Jane Monnich.