VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – On October 19th, 1936, KOVC-AM 1490 first signed on.
For the past 84 years, listeners and customers have made it their “Voice of the Valley”, making it a trusted, area source of information, news, sports, weather, and more. With humble beginnings, the station first located inside the Rudolf Hotel on Fifth Avenue with regular, daily scheduled programming from 7 AM to 9 PM.
Then station director George B. Bairey stated his vision of a broadcasting station dated back to 1930. A newspaper article stated it was “impossible to mention any one Valley City Man whose efforts were given unstintingly to sponsor this station without mentioning all.”
The “scope of KOVC was to be much greater than Valley City” by serving many cities and rural areas.
The station has helped the budding career of Peggy Lee and has covered Hi-Liner & Valley City State University Vikings. It’s become a platform for different performers and churches, including the Valley City Ministerial Association, the Kiddie Program by the Valley Radio Co., and more.
It’s long history has been chronicled in collected newspaper clippings and articles and stored with the Barnes County Historical Society.
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