Dean would purchase a complete turn-key RCA transmitter and studio facility for the station, which would be located at Texas State Highway 26 and Charles Street in Henderson.

The station was assigned the callsign KWRD by request, with the call letters standing for the initials of Dean's name.

The KGRI license was surrendered by the Dean family on May 31, 1985 in order to accommodate an out of state facility's upgrade on the same operating frequency.

On January 3, 2023, a Transfer of Control was filed with the Federal Communications Commission to sell KWRD and its translator to Zula Com, LLC.

Dean sold them the rights to the KWRD-FM side of the call letters, and used the money to buy KWRD a new transmitter.

In the 1990s Chipper Dean lost interest in owning the stations and sold the AM to Witko Broadcasting (Dick Witkowsky).

During Russell's ownership the station went dark for over a year due to a burnt up plate transformer in the transmitter.

KWRD carries The Bob Griffin Radio Show, broadcast from KEEL (AM) in Shreveport, Louisiana, a program of travel reports, features, area personalities, and uplifting human interest stories, often with Christian testimonies.