In addition to a standard analog transmission, KISW broadcasts using HD Radio technology and is available online via Audacy.

The station's founder and first owner was Ellwood W. Lippincott, a resident of Centralia and engineer for the Weyerhauser Timber Company.

At first, the station was powered at slightly over 2,000 watts, a fraction of its current output, and operated from studios at 9201 Roosevelt Way NE in North Seattle.

[4] During the week, Lippincott's job required him to travel around the Pacific Northwest maintaining the company's radio equipment, and he would spend his weekends managing the station.

[9] On February 15, 1971, KISW became a progressive rock (or "underground") station, similar to the format pioneered by Tom Donahue at KMPX and KSAN in San Francisco.

[13] Longtime DJ Steve Slaton, who had been at KISW from 1973 to 1992, was fired by Nationwide over differences in creative opinion that had been simmering since the station's sale years prior.

[15] In 2000, the popular "Twisted Radio" morning show led by Bob Rivers left KISW after 11 years to join rival KZOK-FM.