West Plains, Mo. – KWPM 1450 AM is celebrating 75 years of operation this Friday, July 15 with an Open House. KWPM aired its first broadcast on July 15, 1947 after Robert “Bob” Neathery received authorization by the Federal Communications Commission.
On Friday, Ozark Marketing will host an open house to celebrate this momentous occasion. The Greater West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Missouri Representative for District 154 David Evans will be presenting a proclamation celebrating KWPM during the event.
This will be a great opportunity to meet many of your favorite local radio personalities including Harlin Hutchinson, Big Jim, and Gary Lee.
The original operating power of the station was 250 watts and was increased in 1960 to 1,000 watts. The original FM KWPM station that began in 1951 eventually became KSPQ 93.9. Currently, KWPM still operates at 1450 AM and began to broadcast on 105.1 FM. The call letters stand for Keep West Plains Moving.
KWPM is part of Ozark Marketing and is currently run by Neathery’s granddaughter and her husband, Shawn and Tom Marhefka. KWPM hosts talk radio programs from Sean Hannity, Dave Ramsey, Lars Larson and, Ben Shapiro; and St. Louis Cardinals baseball.
