KRTM

KRTM (88.1 FM) is a Christian radio station licensed to Banning, California, and serving the Palm Springs radio market. The station is owned by Penfold Communications, Inc.

History

The station went on the air as KRTM on 1979-11-05 on 88.9 FM in Temecula. On 1984-08-24, the station changed its call sign to KRRR, on 1989-09-26 to the current KRTM after being acquired by Penfold. Owned for several years by the same guy that owns Penfold's Café & Bakery on Old Town Front Street, the station was brought back after being off the air for seven years. The studio was built in the upstairs of the Aham Tor warehouse on Via Montezuma and the station's 240 foot tower was built in the parking lot. Shortly after, the new City Council was sworn in, and declared that the tower was illegal and couldn't stay where it was. The structure was dismantled with hundreds of people watching from a party that Penfold threw at a nearby bar. The tower was flown via helicopter to a location south of Temecula in the hills west of Interstate 15. During the time of ownership under Mr. Penfold, the station was fined several times for airing advertisements with a non-commercial license.