KTUF

KTUF (93.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to the city of Kirksville, Missouri, USA, and serves the northeast Missouri and southeast Iowa area.

History

KIRKSVILLE GETS TUF: In late 1981 Admiral Broadcasting Incorporated, under the direction of CEO Irving Davis, petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for licensing & broadcasting rights for the call letters KTUF on frequency 93.5 FM assigned to the city of Kirksville, Missouri under FCC Docket 80-90. Approval was granted in 1982 and work soon began to establish a broadcasting studio and office, as well as rental of tower antenna space. Just after the start of 1983 an innovative marketing campaign began for the new station featuring photos of various citizens and local celebrities wearing boxing gloves and the slogan "Kirksville Gets Tuf. Punch 93.5 K-TUF". While sweethearts were giving each other flowers and candy on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1983 saw the gift of a new radio station to the northeast Missouri airwaves as KTUF signed on for the stations first day of broadcasting. The music format at sign-on was Top 40/CHR with a slightly heavier rock/AOR influence during the evening and overnight hours. In 1988, Admiral Broadcasting received FCC approval to increase broadcasting power from the original 3,000 watts on frequency 93.5 to 50,000 watts on fequency 93.7 from a newly constructed tower on the eastern edge of Kirksville. The increased power greatly expanded KTUF's reachable audience from Adair County, Missouri and its bordering counties, into large portions of northcentral Missouri and southeast Iowa. The music format also changed somewhat, with less emphasis on rock and metal -- with the exception of those artist found on the Top 40 music charts.