KRXQ

KRXQ is a commercial radio station in Sacramento, California, broadcasting on 98.5 FM. The station airs an active rock music format branded as "98 Rock". The station is owned by Entercom Communications. Its studios are located in North Highlands (with a Sacramento address) and its transmitter is in Folsom.

History

The beginning

On November 1, 1959, with a dedication by then California Governor Edmund (Pat) Brown, FM radio station KXRQ, owned and operated by Dale Flewelling, made its debut in Sacramento at 98.5 MHz. With studios and transmitter located on the 13th floor of the Elks building in downtown Sacramento, KXRQ operated daily from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m. with an effective radiated power of 35,000 watts. From its elevated location, KXRQ enjoyed broad coverage up and down the valley. Bruce Jensen was Program Director during the first year and programmed a varied mix of popular music during the day and Jazz late at night and weekend afternoons. From 1960 until mid 1966 Paul Thompson was Program Director and the format remained basically the same with the exception that the music became more sophisticated and swinging with an easy jazz touch during the daytime with more straight forward Jazz heard later at night. During this period KXRQ at one point became an all Jazz station for a year or two but commercial support waned and the station fell back on the swinging sound format. Following the departure of Thompson the station continued on in the same direction for a while but eventually things changed and by the spring of 1968, the station was having financial difficulties, and was only broadcasting from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.