Cumulus Media unveiled its revamped Classic Rock “92 KQRS” 92.5 KQRS-FM Golden Valley/Minneapolis this morning.
The station’s target audience has been shifted younger with the playlist centering on the 1980s through early 2000s mixing in more Classic Alternative and Minnesota artists such as Prince, Soul Asylum, and The Replacements. Director of Content and Programming James Kurdziel said, “This is a natural and obvious evolution for 92KQRS. An entire generation is no longer underserved in the Twin Cities with our fresh take on rock. We’re fortunate to have Steve Gorman take the lead and with our new talent additions along with our music focus, a statement is made about what we are and who we serve.”
With the move also comes a heavily revamped on-air line-up. Morning hosts Steven Gorman and Ryder Bue remain, but will now be joined by former iHeartMedia Adult Alternative “Cities 97.1” KTCZ APD/MD/morning host Paul Fletcher for the renamed “Gorman In The Morning with Fletcher & Ryder”. Fletcher spent 12 years at KTCZ from 2012 to last August mostly in afternoons. He also served as Program Director of defunct Alternative “Alt 93.3” W227BF/KQQL-HD2. He began his career in the market at “93.7 The Edge” KEGE and has also worked at KAZR Des Moines and KQKQ Omaha under the on-air name Polychronopolis. Fletcher will also host middays from 10am to 3pm.
Joining the station as afternoon host is former Minnesota Public Radio AAA “89.3 The Current” KCMP music director Jade Tittle. Jade spent fifteen years at KCMP rising from overnight host in 2008 to special event coordinator, Morning Show producer and host of the Music News podcast and video before becoming midday host in 2015 and MD in 2021 until her departure in November 2023.
Chris Nelson will move from middays to nights. Lisa Miller, who had been hosting afternoons, will host a segment “Rock Review” that will air multiple times per-day as well as a weekend airshift.
The first two hours of music on the relaunched KQRS were:
- White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Refugee
- Beck – Loser
- Led Zeppelin – The Ocean
- Bush – Comedown
- Third Eye Blind – How’s It Going To Be
- Soul Asylum – Runaway Train
- Billy Idol – White Wedding
- Foo Fighters – My Hero
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
- AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long
- Replacements – Can’t Hardly Wait
- Green Day – Longview
- Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
Kurdziel was very upfront about the changes in a blog post on the station’s website. He noted that the new music and talent mix is firmly targeting Gen X listeners.
We’re changing. Let’s get that said up front. It’s a good thing. Rock music has to evolve and so does KQ. There are things which exist that do not evolve whether by choice or fear, and when they don’t, they wither away. Not us. KQRS belongs to the Twin Cities and we embrace evolution as an entire generation demands we become something for them. Our goal is to focus on your personal soundtrack—one that speaks to Gen-X and beyond.
Why change? Well, because you’ve asked us to change. You deserve to know what we’re doing and why. There’s no head scratching here because we’re coming right out with it. Proudly, as a matter of fact. The truth is you might listen to KQ now and realize it’s not for you (pardon the Pearl Jam pun). That’s ok. This isn’t meant to be for everyone but if you give us a chance and some trust, you’ll fit in perfectly.
We’re led by Steve Gorman in the Morning with the sounds and perspectives by and for Gen-X. You’ve asked for the music that shaped your life. From the power chords of the ‘80s to the raw energy of the ‘90s, into the wide-eyed optimism of the 2000s. We’re delivering the rock that matters most to you. We’ll also give real exposure to the iconic Minnesotans who have built the sounds of our community. All this music has been here and we’re giving it a home. KQ is now a complete rock station.
This isn’t just a change—it’s a natural progression; time for us to grow again. It’s about renewing the spirit of the KQ. Making it more relevant, more electric, and more yours than ever.
Welcome to the next chapter of 92KQRS. Now for an entire generation that grew up screaming Here we are now. Entertain us!
Update 4/2: The one day loop of Soul Asylum’s “Somebody To Shove” came to an end on Cumulus Media Classic Rock 92.5 KQRS-FM Golden Valley/Minneapolis.
Today the station is back to a “regular” playlist with a much more noticeable Classic Alternative or gold based AAA lean to the music.
Update 4/1: As Cumulus Media Classic Rock 92.5 KQRS-FM Golden Valley/Minneapolis continues its jockless “Under Construction” presentation until its relaunch at 6am on Thursday, April 3, the station began looping Soul Asylum’s “Somebody To Shove” at 6:00 this morning.
The station has been teasing the return of morning host Steve Gorman during its stunt, but the status of the remainder of its on-air staff remains unknown.
Soul Asylum holds relevance in the Twin Cities as one of the most successful bands to come out of the market albeit one that is more associated with Alternative Rock than Classic Rock. Is that a hint in terms of where KQRS is going musically?
Original Report 3/24: Cumulus Media Classic Rock 92.5 KQRS-FM Golden Valley/Minneapolis has gone jockless and “Under Construction” promoting a station relaunch for Thursday, April 3.
The move follows staff cuts at Cumulus Minneapolis including KQRS-FM morning co-host Brian Zepp earlier this month. KQRS-FM tied for tenth in the Twin Cities with a 4.1 share in the January 2025 Nielsen Audio ratings.
Sweepers heard during the stunt included, “Pardon our dust, build a new KQ we must” and “Come back April 3 to find out what’s next for 92 KQRS”.
Brandon Charles 
Andy Cobb 
Jeff Petersen 
Mike Workman 
Charles Geiger
The only thing I can think is, this is a way for them to move their playlist forward. I haven’t really kept up with the playlist over the last few years, but they seem to be one of the last holdouts to stay in the early 70s as far as the center lane. Feels like a brand died when Tom retired.
I thought Zepp and Steve were awesome together. I have listened to the morning show since 1993. I was ready to hate Steve. Then I didn’t. I enjoyed the show. Even thought it was better than the last couple years of Tom’s hall of fame performance.
The show took a dip losing Terri. Then rose above with Zepp coming back and saving my mental state during COVID. KQ was the only news I watched or listened to. I hope the have something very special planned.
The news comes a week (or so) after Terri Traen was named to the Pavek Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame (wonder if Barnard will go to the ceremony). A change was long overdue. Their playlist was way too short and dominated by only a few bands played overandoverandoverandover. Hopefully, they’ll restore live broadcasting at nights with real personalities.
I’m listening to the stream, it’s now at 12:30 pm local time and for the last 15 minutes they’ve been playing a loop of REM’s It’s the End Of The World.
It’s not an identical package but the new KQRS reminds me somewhat of Corus Entertainment’s new “iconic Alternative” stations in Calgary and Winnipeg, two similar markets. It’s also interesting to imagine what would have happened if KQRS had followed WMMS, WBCN and other heritage rockers that joined the “new rock revolution” in 1994-95, rather than segueing to Classic Rock.
This ain’t your father’s KQ!
Execution and strategy was fantastic. It reminds me of the relaunch of 99x in Atlanta a few years ago. My initial thought before reading this article was if they hire paul Fletcher this has a chance of really being successful. I respect the post. We wait and see seems like cities 97 is the target but the station that actually has something to lose is jack FM who have been doing some variation of this format. Given the history of the Minneapolis radio market this makes sense. I also appreciate that they did not throw out artists like zeppelin just because they came out earlier that have a huge mass appeal to multiple generations.