In August of 1955, the then dubbed KGLM station was sold to Don Whitman. Soon after the acquisition, Don initiated the “1420 Contest” to find a new name for the station. The winning entry was KITI, or as it was colloquially referred to as, “The Kitty.” The winners of the contest, Mr. and Mrs. Northup, won themselves an 8 day trip to Hawaii and other prizes for a total of $1420 in value (about $17,700 adjusted for 2026).
In the early 1960s, KITI entered into a joint partnership with the Olympia station KITN on 920AM. Don Whitman figured that consolidating DJ talent to one location would allow for higher paid professional DJs. Local commercials were aired separately for each station, but most other content at this time was combined, a functionality that was new at the time. The relationship between the two stations would run until October of 1977.
In 1977, KITI was acquired by Premier Broadcasters and shifted to a popular music format. In 1995, KITI officially moved to a greatest hits of all time format, and remains so today.