[3] A year after its launch, Odom sold the station to Grand Canyon Broadcasters, a trio of evangelical businessmen who raised funds by selling stock to almost 500 Valley Christians.
“She got to be very, very popular.”[5] KHEP kept up with the times, producing programs like a special five-night series on communism in 1960, and another the next year on “The Christian Answer to Communism.” It also aired shows with well-known preachers like Jerry Owen, healer Leroy Jenkins (“The man with the miracle arm”), and Oral Roberts.
New music and talk programs included “The Reformation Hour,” “Haven of Rest,” and “High Noon Bible Class” with Rev.
J. Vernon McGee of Los Angeles; the station offered news on the hour, courtesy of UPI’s audio service.
To the best of these, we added news, features and interviews, and blended them together to create a full spectrum of service for our listeners.”[7] Jack Willis left in 1983 and was replaced by Herm Gebert; around that time, Grand Canyon Broadcasters changed its name to Christian Communications.
By the 1990s, the station was struggling to find an audience, and began airing fishing programs, local sports games, a car repair show, and country music.
[10] The new programming included a morning show with Austin Hill, who discussed culture from a conservative perspective, and others with Trent Franks and Oliver North.
Rex Collins, chairman of Christian Communications’ board, told the Arizona Republic that Phoenix's media climate was “too competitive, too challenging” for KTKP.
Under his aegis, the station was rebranded “The Trumpet” to reflect its complete focus on Christian teaching using talk programming, paralleling the prophetic use of this instrument in the Bible.
[19] The station was returned to air under Special Temporary Authority using a long wire antenna from an alternate transmitter site on April 15, 2021, one day before the license was to expire.
[22] In October, after only one month, KXEG dropped the MeTV Music affiliation with no official notice or explanation given to its listeners, and temporarily switched back to being a simulcast of Radio Xtasis for a week.
The station then started broadcasting a mostly-automated '60s-'80s traditional Oldies format with limited voicetracked personalities, only branding with its call letters.