Shaunavon’s CJSN 1490 is returning to its original musical roots.
The station, which signed on the air Dec. 6, 1966, changed its name to Country 1490 and adopted a country format on Friday afternoon.
Twenty-two months after CKSW 570, and its repeater CJSN 1490, switched from country to classic hits, Country 1490 will part ways from its sister station and become a repeater of Country 94.1.
Brett Adnum, president of Golden West Broadcasting, said the decision followed extensive consultation with local partners, businesses and listeners.
“We heard loud and clear from the community of Shaunavon that not only do they want country music, but they want it on their local radio station,” Adnum said. “They want it with a mix of local information, weather, news and updates. They want to listen in their hometown. After lots of deliberation and discussion here, what we decided was to bring it back and listen to the crowd and the community of Shaunavon.”
Country 1490 has partnered with the Shaunavon Shadows football team to launch the new brand on Friday during their game against the Lumsden Devils. The name, music format and logo will be unveiled at Smith Field at 3:30 p.m.
The station’s Local Sports Live broadcast will carry the game, which includes a halftime kick from an undisclosed location for a $25,000 prize. The night will end with a concert on the field by the Saskatchewan Country Music Association’s 2024 Emerging Artist, Josh Stumpf.
“A big thank you to all of our advertisers and partners for helping make this happen — without you, we can’t do anything that we do,” Adnum said. “To our listeners in Shaunavon and the surrounding communities, thanks for consistently being there and being loyal to the radio station. I’m really excited. I hope someone wins $25,000 at halftime and enjoys the concert.”
Golden West Broadcasting (formerly Southern Manitoba Broadcasting) has owned the station since 1974, when it purchased it from Frontier City Broadcasting. Elmer Hildebrand, owner and CEO of Golden West, said the acquisition of CKSW 570 and CJSN 1490 was the company’s first outside of Manitoba, which led to the change in name.
“We were looking to get CKSW, but CJSN was part of the package, so it came along,” Hildebrand said.
Golden West invested in CKSW’s transmitter site in 1977, boosting its power from 1,000 watts to 10,000 and moving it from 1400 on the AM dial to 570. With CKSW’s signal aimed north, Hildebrand said CJSN 1490 played a critical role in covering the southwest.
“From my perspective, it was always important to have Shaunavon, because with that signal it covered the southwest part of the province,” he said. “CKSW’s signal is good in La Ronge, but it may not be good in Frontier.
“The Hunter Brothers grew up listening to CJSN. That was their radio station. In that part of Saskatchewan, not much else could be heard except maybe some U.S. stations. So they grew up with CJSN, and they’re great supporters of ours.”