Located in The Ozarks, KWPM-AM is owned by Ozark Marketing. The station will celebrate 75 years of operation this Friday with an Open House. KWPM aired its first broadcast on July 15, 1947 after Robert “Bob” Neathery received authorization from the FCC.
The Ozark Radio Network now includes six radio stations (KKDY-FM, KSPQ-FM,KUKU-FM, KUPH-FM, KWPM AM/FM), and is owned by Robert’s grand-daughter Shawn Marhefka and her husband, Tom.
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.
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.
