How CKRM Has Kept Saskatchewan Connected for 100 Years

When radio first came to Saskatchewan, it wasn’t a novelty. It was infrastructure.

This province has always been defined by distance. Towns are far apart, farmland stretches past the horizon, and weather dictates daily life. For much of Saskatchewan’s history, knowing what was happening beyond your immediate surroundings required tremendous effort, and without it, connection often didn’t happen at all.

Radio changed that.

CKRM launched in 1926 to connect Saskatchewan. In a province spread across one of the largest, least densely populated regions in North America, it delivered timely, local information to people who couldn’t rely on proximity to stay informed.

From its early days in Moose Jaw to its growth in Regina, the station became a daily source of news, agriculture, weather, music, and conversation. That steady presence would come to define CKRM as the Voice of Saskatchewan, a role it still holds 100 years after first going on the air.

The Story of CKRM

The station first went live on July 27, 1926 from Moose Jaw, operating at 665 on the dial with limited power but a clear purpose. 

Within a few years, studios and transmitters shifted, power increased, and the signal stretched farther. By the 1930s, CKRM had established a presence in Regina, moving frequencies and upgrading infrastructure to reach more listeners, more reliably.

In a typical Saskatchewan household at the time, the day might start before sunrise. A radio would come on in the kitchen while coffee brewed and boots were pulled on. Grain prices came first. Then weather. Information that shaped the work ahead before anyone stepped outside. Later in the evening, the same station might be playing softly from a living room while supper settled and the day slowed down.

That rhythm repeated itself across Saskatchewan for decades. 

Farmers tuned in before the day began. Families listened again after dark. Towns separated by hours of travel shared the same information at the same time. CKRM created common moments in a place where shared experience was otherwise hard to come by.

This was not an abstract connection. It was practical and specific. Grain prices mattered because they affected income. Weather reports mattered because they shaped safety and timing. News from Regina or beyond mattered because it explained decisions being made elsewhere that still landed close to home. 

Over these years, CKRM didn’t abandon its local focus, but it increasingly served Saskatchewan as a whole, connecting farms, towns, and cities through a shared flow of information, conversation, and music.

Everything Has Changed, Except the Reason People Tune In

Today, CKRM boasts one of the largest coverage areas in all of North America, including Saskatchewan’s most populated areas (as well as parts of our neighbours to the south).

That reach did not happen by accident. It’s the result of decades of adjustments as the world around the station kept changing.

Ownership changed. Frequencies moved. Broadcasting rules shifted. Listening habits evolved. CKRM was forced to adapt repeatedly, sometimes under pressure, sometimes by choice. Yet each change was guided by the same question: How does the station remain useful to the people listening?

In the 1940s and 50s, that meant growing power and reach, earning slogans like “The Saskatchewan Farmer Station” and “Saskatchewan’s Favourite Listening Post.” By the late 1950s, CKRM was broadcasting at 10,000 watts, reaching more than 100,000 adult listeners a day. 

In the early 1970s, CKRM made another defining move. It dropped its easy listening format and committed fully to country music. The shift reflected a deeper understanding of its audience and the culture it served. 

People were listening, but the station was listening too. Radio is meant to be heard. CKRM stands out because, for 100 years, it has adjusted its sound, schedule, and focus based on how people in Saskatchewan actually live.

In 2001, CKRM moved from 980 to 620 on the AM dial. The move extended its reach even more and paved the path for another major milestone. Two years later, CKRM was authorized to operate a provincial network originating from Regina, broadcasting regional and province-wide news and open-line programming. 

The station was no longer simply reflecting the province. It was actively shaping a shared conversation across it.

In 2010, CKRM blended country music with sports, recognizing that games, teams, and live debate were central to Saskatchewan’s sense of identity. Today, the station is the flagship radio home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Regina Pats. Game days bring province-wide pre- and post-game shows through the Roughrider Football Network. Weekday afternoons feature The SportsCage, where fans hear live analysis, argument, and familiar voices.

Once again, the station adjusted without losing sight of its mission to keep Saskatchewan connected.

That focus is rare in media. So many radio stations across the province (and across the country, for that matter) have disappeared when they forget who they serve or mistake motion for progress. 

CKRM has lasted by holding onto the same job, even as everything around it changed.

When It Matters Most, This Is Where Saskatchewan Turns

That role the station has clung to becomes clearest in moments that demand the most attention.

Across the past century, those moments came in many forms. Wars and economic shifts that changed daily life. Severe weather that required immediate decisions. Elections that shaped the province’s and the country’s direction. And of course, the championship seasons and losses that pulled people together in the same instant. 

In each case, CKRM was already there.

That presence was never separate from the station’s everyday work. The same broadcasts that deliver country music, local news, and agriculture also carry Saskatchewan through moments of consequence.

As CKRM celebrates its 100th year, the station is marking the milestone in the same spirit. Instead of compressing a century into a single moment, the anniversary unfolds over the year, revisiting the events, music, and people that defined different eras.

That history does not belong to the station alone. It belongs to the listeners who were there for it.

Your CKRM Memories Are Part of the Story

CKRM’s history lives in the people who listened, called in, showed up, and took part. To celebrate 100 years, listeners are invited to share their own CKRM memories, from on-air moments to community events and everyday interactions.

The CKRM Radio Scrapbook

Over the years, CKRM found its way into homes across the province in small, lasting ways. Hats, mugs, stickers, and photos from events tell a quieter version of the station’s story. The CKRM Radio Scrapbook brings those pieces together as a record of how the station lived alongside its audience.

The Top 100 Country Songs

Music has always been part of how CKRM connects people. To mark the anniversary, listeners have already helped shape a countdown of the 100 greatest country songs of all time that played on New Year’s Day, turning individual favourites into a shared list.

Behind the Scenes at CKRM

The station’s voice was built by more than the people behind the microphone. Former employees from every era are being invited to share their experiences and be recognized for the work that helped shape what Saskatchewan heard each day.

Connection Is More Important Than Ever

Looking back across a century of moments, songs, voices, and memories makes one thing clear: The role CKRM was built to play has changed, but it has not gone away.

Physical distance may no longer be as large of a barrier to connection as it once was. After all, information moves instantly and voices are everywhere. Yet, shared experiences feel harder to find. News arrives piecemeal. Custom algorithms shape what we consume. Conversation fragments. 

Even as people are surrounded by information, we often take it all in alone.

What CKRM continues to offer is something increasingly rare: moments that happen at the same time, for everyone listening. Live news. Real-time agriculture updates. Game calls that pull the province into the same moment. 

The same qualities that once bridged geography now bridge something else.

Why The Voice of CKRM Still Holds the Room

A hundred years on, CKRM’s job is not to preserve the past, but to keep pace with Saskatchewan.

The station continues to evolve because the province does. 

News remains local and immediate. Agriculture stays central, because it always has been. Sports still matter, because they bring people together in ways little else does. CKRM remains the voice of the Roughriders, the voice of rural Saskatchewan, and a daily presence in Regina, the Queen City.

What ties it together is not format or frequency, but function. CKRM acts as connective tissue, linking communities, conversations, and moments across the province.

That work is ongoing. Relevance is not something a station earns once and keeps. It is earned again every morning, every broadcast, every day.

The invitation remains the same as it was in 1926. Listen in, stay connected, and be part of a province that still gathers around a shared voice.