KKST FM 98.7

A commercial FM station broadcasting an urban contemporary format from studios on Texas Avenue in Alexandria, Louisiana. Licensed to Oakdale, the station's signal reaches Alexandria, Natchitoches, and surrounding communities, and is owned by Cenla Broadcasting Licensing Company. The station traces its origins to a construction permit issued on June 30, 1971, for a 1,500-watt station at 104.9 MHz. It launched the following year with an adult contemporary format under the call letters KCWR, owned by Cyril W. and C. Winsett Reddoch. The station changed hands several times through the 1970s and 1980s, cycling through country and adult contemporary formats under successive owners including George Mowad, Strother Broadcasting, and B & D Communications. A frequency change approved by the FCC in 1988 moved the station from 104.9 to 98.7 MHz, enabling it to reach the larger Alexandria market. The upgrade took effect on May 14, 1990, at which point the station relaunched as adult contemporary "Magic 98." A second format shift in 1993 brought the country format back under the banner "Hot Country 98." Champion Broadcasting Corporation acquired the station in 1995 for $1.8 million, beginning a period of cluster ownership in the Alexandria market.