The KRES call letters were derived from last names of the four original station owners: local attorney/financier Basil Kaufmann, sportscaster Paul Roscoe, liquor distributor Joseph Epsten and pharmacist Al Shanin.

The studios were located on the 2nd floor of the Commerce Loan Company, also owned by Kaufmann, at 7th and Edmond Streets in downtown St. Joseph.

One of the first regularly scheduled programs on the station was a daily performance by Minor Clites, a blind piano player who lived in Saint Joseph.

[2] In November 1951, the FCC authorized the station move to 1550 kHz AM with increased power of 5,000 watts.

The KKJO call letters were adopted in 1961, and KRES today is used by a country station in Moberly, Missouri.

On air staff, in 1965, included Greg Everett, (program director), Mike Shannon, Roger Liszt (News), and Jim Ream (weekends/vaction fill in) Calling the station "Tiger Radio," KKJO was St. Joseph's version of Top 40 radio similar to the pioneering sound at nearby WHB in Kansas City.

KUSN-FM's call letters were changed to KSFT (K-Soft) in 1974 to reflect a new automated beautiful music format provided by Schulke, a sydication company.

That station became '80s hits KFME, and is now urban contemporary KCJK, owned by Cumulus Media.

on a loop for several hours as a stunt related to the end times prediction by evangelist Harold Camping of Family Radio.