The original call letters were KEYD and the station played country music for many years. The station was launched in May 1948 by former management and advertisers of WDGY, who had become disenchanted with the owners of that station over the discontinuance of religious programming. Family Broadcasting basically started the station as a new home for the spurned WDGY programming. KEYD got a sister TV station in 1955, KEYD-TV (now KMSP-TV), and the two stations were co-owned by Family Broadcasting until mid-1956. The original KEYD radio studios were located in downtown Minneapolis on 9th Street off of Hennepin Avenue adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre. According to the 1955 Broadcasting Yearbook, both the AM and TV stations were co-located in the Foshay Tower.
