| City | Glendive, Montana |
|---|---|
| Country | US |
| Branding | KXGN 1400 AM & 103.1 FM |
| Frequency | 1400 kHz |
| Airdate | September 23, 1948[1] |
| Format | Oldies · adult contemporary · news |
| Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
| Class | C |
| Facility id | 24285 |
| Licensing authority | FCC |
| Owner | Andrew Sturlaugson |
| Licensee | P&A Media LLC |
| Affiliations | Fox News Radio |
| Sister stations | KDZN |
| Website | web.kxgn.com/kxgn-1400-am |
KXGN (1400 kHz) is an AM radio station in Glendive, Montana, United States. The station is owned by Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media, along with KDZN. KXGN signed on in 1948.
History
Lewis Wiles Moore was granted a construction permit for a new station on 1400 kHz in Glendive in July 1948;[2] the station, which took the call sign KXGN,[3] went on the air September 23.[1] In 1954, the license was transferred to the Glendive Broadcasting Corporation; Moore retained 99 percent of the new company, with Mary L. Moore and Elizabeth Kinsfater each holding a 0.05-percent interest.[4] A television sister station, KXGN-TV (channel 5), was added in 1957.[5]
Stephen A. Marks, owner of WBKB-TV in Alpena, Michigan, bought KXGN and KXGN-TV from Lewis Moore in 1989.[6] The sale required a waiver of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations that prohibited common ownership of radio and television stations, which was granted in May 1990; by then, Moore had retired to Palm Desert, California.[7] Marks added an FM station, KDZN, to the group in 1995; by this point, KXGN radio was losing money and was being supported by revenues from KXGN-TV.[8]
Stephen Marks died on May 11, 2022.[9] Andrew Sturlaugson's P&A Media acquired Marks' Montana and North Dakota radio stations, including KXGN and KDZN, for $850,000 in 2024;[10] Sturlaugson had been the Glendive stations' operations manager.[11] The sale separated the radio stations from KXGN-TV, which the Marks estate retained[11] until 2025.[12]
Programming
KXGN broadcasts a mix of oldies and adult contemporary music with local news from KXGN and national news from Fox News Radio. Ranch, farm and other agriculture-oriented news is also offered on KXGN, as Glendive is a large farming community.
High school sports including Dawson County High School football, boys and girls basketball, volleyball and softball are heard on KXGN. The station also airs local American Legion, Babe Ruth and Little League baseball games in the summer. KXGN also airs games featuring the teams from Dawson Community College in Glendive and football and basketball games from the University of Montana in Missoula.
References
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999. 1999. p. D-268. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
- ^ "AM Grants". Broadcasting–Telecasting. July 12, 1948. p. 75.
- ^ "KXGN history cards" (PDF). Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ "Ownership Changes". Broadcasting–Telecasting. March 1, 1954. p. 86.
- ^ "KXGN-TV history cards" (PDF). Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. August 28, 1989. p. 55.
- ^ Sheridan, Patrick J. (May 14, 1990). "One-to-a-market waived in Montana". Broadcasting. p. 44.
- ^ "Memorandum Opinion and Order". Federal Communications Commission. March 7, 1995. Archived April 18, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ "Marks Media Group President Stephen Marks Passes Away.". Inside Radio. May 16, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ Venta, Lance (February 9, 2024). "Station Sales Week Of 2/9". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ Ellis, Jon (February 12, 2024). "Ops Manager Buys Marks Radio Stations in Montana, North Dakota". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ Wyllie, Julian (July 10, 2025). "Montana PBS to acquire three stations in underserved region of the state". Current. Retrieved July 12, 2025.