CFRY-AM

CFRY began broadcasting on October 18, on a frequency of 1570 kHz. Power was 250 watts (non-directional). The station was owned by Portage-Delta Broadcasting Co. Ltd. CFRY was an independent station with no network affiliation.

Ownership of Portage-Delta Broadcasting Co. Ltd.: R. D. Hughes 99.8%, Mrs. M. L. Hughes 0.1% and L. W. Hughes 0.1%. R. D. Hughes was president of the company and manager of CFRY. He was also commercial manager.

CFRY planned to move to more modern studios in the fall. The opening was to coincide with the station’s second anniversary on October 18. 

Ad slogan: CFRY serves the hub of Manitoba agriculture.

By this time, CFRY was operating on a frequency of 920 kHz with 1,000 watts of power. Richard D. Hughes was still president and manager.

On July 8, Portage-Delta Broadcasting Co. Ltd. was given approval to increase CFRY 920’s power from 1,000 watts (single directional pattern) to 10,000 watts (different day and night patterns) – from a new transmitter site.

CFRY applied to the CRTC to increase power to 50,000 watts from a new transmitter site. The application was withdrawn due to technical issues.

On February 15, the CRTC renewed CFRY’s licence until September 30, 1989.

On April 25, the CRTC approved the application to amend the licence for CFRY by increasing the transmitter power from 10,000 watts to 25,000 watts day-time and to 15,000 watts night-time. The licensee indicated that this increase in power should improve coverage to an area south and southwest of Portage La Prairie, which included the towns of Holland, Treherne, Rathwell, St. Claude, Elm Creek and Austin. A better quality day-time signal would also be received in Brandon.

Red Hughes was CFRY’s general manager.

Johnny Murphy left CFRY for CFQX-FM Selkirk.

On September 7, Portage-Delta Broadcasting Co. Ltd. was given approval to add an FM rebroadcast transmitter for CFRY at Portage La Prairie, operating on 93.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 27,000 watts.

Approval of this application marked the first occasion that the CRTC had authorized a private broadcaster to construct a transmitter within the coverage area served by its existing station for purposes other than correcting technical deficiencies in the signal coverage of the existing station. The Commission noted in this regard that the 0.5 mv/m contour of the proposed FM transmitter would be almost fully enclosed by the existing 5 mv/m daytime coverage of CFRY, and that more than half of that FM contour would be enclosed by CFRY’s current night-time coverage pattern. While there would be improved night-time coverage to the south of Portage La Prairie, the area concerned was very sparsely populated.

On June 18, the CRTC approved the transfer of 14,999 common voting shares of Portage-Delta Broadcasting Company Ltd. (CFRY and CFRY-1-FM) from Richard Digby Hughes to Richard Dixon Hughes.  

Richard Digby Hughes, the founder and president of CFRY, died of cancer at 81. He started the station in 1956 and, in 1987, received the Manitoba Association of Broadcasters’ Pioneer Award.

On July 26, the sale of Portage-Delta Broadcasting Company Ltd. to Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. was approved.

On September 3, CFRY was given approval for a new FM station (different programming than CFRY) at Portage la Prairie.

CFRY moved to new studios and offices at 350 River Road in Portage la Prairie in the spring.

Sister station CJPG-FM signed on the air on May 4. 

On August 31, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CFRY and its transmitter CFRY-1-FM Portage La Prairie until March 31, 2012.

On March 20, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CFRY Portage La Prairie and its transmitter CFRY-1-FM Portage La Prairie, to August 31, 2012.

On August 28, the licence was administratively renewed to December 31, 2012. On December 21, the CRTC renewed the CFRY / CFRY-1-FM licence to August 31, 2019.

CFRY switched its FM transmitter to a brand new radio station when Country 93.1 (CHPO-FM) signed on the air September 24. 

CFRY-FM had simulcast CFRY 920 and was now offering separate programming to complement the traditional Country format of CFRY-AM.