KMIN

KMIN (980 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Country Music format that is licensed to Grants, New Mexico, USA. The station is owned by KD Radio, Inc.

Station history

KMIN signed on the air in July 1956 as the first radio station licensed to Grants, New Mexico. KMIN was the only station with a good strong signal between Gallup and Albuquerque. John Blake was the original owner of this new radio station. The programming was diverse. Easy listening music was heard in the mornings. Polka music was heard mid-days and classical in the afternoon. In those days, KMIN was required to sign off at sunset and sign on again at sunrise.

There are two explanations of what the call letters mean. One is that John Blake's wife was named Minnie. Min for short. The other explanation is that Grants was a mining town. For many years the station was called K-Mine Radio. No one seems to know which is true.

In 1961 John Blake and his partner Dave Button sold KMIN to Tom Foster from Center Texas. On July 15, 1962 the programming was changed to a Popular Music format. The first song of the new format was Toni Fisher singing "The Big Hurt". It was played by the man who would be the KMIN General Manager for 20 years, Bernie Bustos Senior.