KRCO-AM's building nearing completion in late 1949.

AM 690 KRCO COUNTRY enjoys a heritage position in the Central Oregon radio market, serving Prineville, Crook and Jefferson counties since 1950.

Radio Central Oregon, Inc. applied for and received authority from the Federal Communications Commission to construct a 1,000 watt daytime only AM station at 690 kilocycles in Prineville, OR in 1949. The company was formed by Collin R. Matheny, Robert M. Bruce and C.J. Stuart, all of whom were previously associated with KYJC-AM in Medford, OR. Five Crook County investors were also part of the new corporation: Paul B. Kelly, a Prineville lumberman; William B. Morse, a joint state legislator from Crook and Jefferson counties; Claude Williams, an irrigational farmer; Roscoe Hopper, a potato grower; Howard Dietrich, an attorney, and Robert Lister, a cattle rancher from Paulina. The company would operate the station for 29 years.

KRCO-AM became the second radio station in Central Oregon when it began broadcasting on January 31, 1950 from its newly constructed studio at 4455 North Madras Highway near the Crooked River. KRCO's signal emanates from the tallest man-made structure in Central Oregon – a tower 305 feet in height - located four miles northwest of Prineville. The tower was erected by the Fisher Tower Company in late 1949. From the beginning the station was authorized to broadcast from 6:00 am (pre-sunrise) to sunset. It wasn't until 1981 that KRCO-AM received authorization from the FCC to broadcast a 77-watt non-directional signal from sunset to sunrise. KRCO-AM must reduce power at night to protect radio stations in San Diego, CA and Vancouver, British Columbia that also reside on the 690 khz frequency. KRCO-AM is a Class D station with Class B status in Region 2 (western hemisphere).

C.R. "Bob" Matheny was KRCO's co-founder and General Manager for 29 years. photo by Dave Duncan

In addition to his ownership role C.R. "Bob" Matheny served as KRCO's original General Manager. Matheny delivered Hometown News weekday mornings at 10 am during his tenure at KRCO. The program is still on the air today, from 10:05 am to 10:30 am weekdays, featuring local community news, public service announcements and obituaries. He also was the station's Farm Director and hosted daily farm reports during the morning show and the noon hour. Mr. Matheny served as President of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters in 1967.

Other members of the original KRCO-AM staff included:

• Co-founder R.M. "Bob" Bruce, who was the station's first Sales Manager;
• Co-founder C.J. "Chester' Stuart was the KRCO's first chief engineer and installed the original Collins transmitter (a 1949 model 20T) that operated until the mid 1990's. Stuart's nephew, James Boyd, has handled KRCO's engineering duties for the past decade (he is the owner of Boyd Broadcast Technical Services in Tualatin, OR);
• Norbert "Mike" Miksche was the station's first program director and was actively involved in the community;
• KRCO's Sports Director in the 50's and 60's was Dick Burger. He handled play-by-play of Crook County High School Sports and delivered daily sportscasts featuring hunting, fishing, skiing and water recreation. Mr. Burger was also an Account Executive;
• Rita Matheny was the station's first traffic director (creating daily program logs);
• Alveta Gustavson was the receptionist and bookkeeper.

The KRCO-AM staff, circa 1960.

Among the personalities who later joined the KRCO-AM team under Radio Central Oregon's ownership were: Barry "Buck" Lambert as KRCO's news director; Troy Fowler's "Country Music Time" show helped listeners begin their day from sign-on to 7 am Monday through Saturday. He was a noted live entertainer around Central Oregon on the country music circuit; Tony Annicelli, a Boston, MA import, who handled afternoon announcer duties and hosted "Sunset Serenade" in the 1950's; "Lady Lookout" Jackie McRae, the wife of former Prineville Mayor Dick McRae broadcast homemaking hints, recipes and commentary from her home in Prineville during the stations' early years; Dale Sundholm, a KGON Portland alum; Bob Arnott, of legendary Minneapolis radio station WCCO-AM.

Troy Fowler, host of "Country Music Time".

High Lakes Broadcasting, led by John Kendell, a Dallas, Texas television executive acquired KRCO-AM from Radio Central Oregon, Inc. on November 28, 1978. Originally from Portland, Kendall became a highly respected member of the Prineville community and was named Businessperson of the Year by the Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce in 1982. Kendell constructed KIJK-FM (now KLTW-FM) in the early 1980's, creating an AM/FM combo licensed to Prineville, OR. Arnott, Bryan Williams and Bobby Smith were a few of the familiar voices heard during Mr. Kendell's tenure as owner of KRCO-AM.

High Desert Communications, Inc. (dba Jay Man Productions, Inc.) acquired KRCO-AM/KIJK-FM from High Lakes Broadcasting on December 1, 1995. The company was owned by Jonathan Mann, a music industry veteran from New York City who had relocated to Eugene, OR. During his tenure, added KTWI-FM (changing calls to KWEG-FM) to the roster of stations.

In December 1999 Horizon Broadcasting Group, LLC, a company co-founded by three Seattle area broadcasters, announced its intention to acquire KRCO-AM (and sister stations KIJK-FM and KWEG-FM) from High Desert Communications, Inc.

KRCO-AM continues its long heritage of serving Prineville, Crook and Jefferson counties with an extensive lineup of local programming, much of which originated in 1950. Hometown News is heard weekdays at 10:05 am and features local news and community events, public service announcements and obituaries. KRCO's Tradin' Post, Central Oregon's original buy, swap and sell program, was expanded to one hour in length (9:00 to 10:00 am daily) in July of 2000. Local news updates are offered on the hour from 6 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday with news director Paul Valle. Northwest Farm news is featured Monday through Friday during the noon hour, and lifestyle features air during the 5 pm news block. Interviews with local community leaders, public service announcements, school lunch menus, school-closure information and traffic reports are staples of the morning show. The station has carried a Classic Country music format for the past decade. Red Allen, Skip Taylor, Dave Clemens and Paul Valle are familiar voices to KRCO listeners during the Classic Country era.

KRCO-AM was originally affiliated with the Liberty Broadcasting System, and later with the Mutual News Network until 2001 when the station became part of the ABC Direction Network web. In July 2004, the station became an ABC Information Network affiliate and, in addition to national newscasts on the hour, began broadcasting Paul Harvey News and Comment three times Monday through Saturday (7:30 am, 12:05 pm and The Rest of the Story at 5:10 pm).

KRCO carries approximately 160 sporting events per year, featuring Crook County High School Football, Boys and Girls basketball and Bend Elks baseball games. The station entered into affiliation agreements with the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA and Oregon State University (football and men's basketball) in 2000.

The station is actively involved in the community. As an example, the Crook County Rotary takes over the station on April Fool's Day each year to raise money for its "Dollars for Scholars" program. Local Rotarians serve as announcers throughout the day on KRCO, taking requests and reading commercials in an effort that has raised over $100,000 since it began in 1996.

Today, KRCO-AM is part of Central Oregon's largest radio group. In addition to KRCO-AM, Horizon Broadcasting Group, LLC owns and operates KLTW-FM (Continuous Lite Favorites - LITE 95.1), KQAK-FM (Rock ‘N Roll Oldies 105.7), KWLZ-FM (Continuous Classic Rock – LAZER 96-5) and KWPK-FM (THE PEAK 104.1 – The Best of the 80's, 90's and Today).

Sources: KRCO-AM station archives, Portland Radio Guide; FCC Database

For historical pictures of KRCO in the Prineville community, please click here