The station was originally KOTD-FM and had an adult standards format from 1992 until September 23, 1999, when it was sold to Waitt Media, who in turn, flipped the station to adult album alternative as KCTY. On March 12, 2004, at 3 p.m., after stunting with a 24-hour robotic countdown accompanied by "On the Run" by Pink Floyd, it flipped to All-80s Hits as "Retro 106.9". 14 months later, on May 26, 2005, at Noon, the station flipped to adult hits as "106.9 Bob FM." The first song on "Bob FM" was "Get This Party Started" by P!nk. On December 31, 2002, their sister station, KBLR-FM, which was an AC, began to target the market with an Urban Contemporary format as "Hot 107.7 & 97.3." The station, which was unique in that it was the first station in the state of Nebraska playing Hip Hop and R&B music full-time, was signal-challenged from the start, since the 97.3 signal barely covered the metro and the 107.7 frequency was a translator. Despite the coverage area, the format created the highest ratings and revenue in the history of those signals, and was home of the Russ ParrMorning Show during its tenure. On December 29, 2006, at 3 p.m., NRG turned KCTY into the all-new KOPW. The Rhythmic Contemporary-formatted KOPW is a modified version of the format of "Hot 107.7 & 97.3." Based from KBLR playing Hip Hop/R&B, the Urban format tilted over to Rhythmic is "in fashion" with the frequency move. With KOPW going Rhythmic, it now puts them in direct competition with Top 40 Mainstream competitors KQCH, and since 2012, KISO. At first, KOPW was reported to R&R as an urban contemporary station, but has since evolved to a broader Rhythmic direction, and in October 2009, was added to both Mediabase and Nielsen BDS' Rhythmic panels. From October 2007 until April 5, 2019, KOPW served as the Omaha affiliate for the syndicated Big Boy’s Neighborhood program that aired in mornings, until NRG decided not to renew its contract with Premiere Networks. On April 8, 2019, the station became 100% local in all day parts with the debut of “Chef West & The Morning Scramble” hosted by Tay ‘Mr. West’ Westberry and former American Idolseason 13 contestant Alyssa Siebken. As of May 2020, KOPW is ranked 5th place in the market according to Nielsen Audio Ratings.
