On February 1, 1948, the station first signed on as KNGS, owned by the Pereira family (whose son Steve Perry was the lead singer of the rock band Journey from 1977-1987 and again from 1995-1998).[3] Of Portuguese descent, the Pereiras first carried Portuguese-language programming in 1952, expanding to a mostly-Portuguese format (with some Spanish language programming) in 1989.[2][4]
In 1986, the station was acquired by Bob Liggett. He kept the country music format in place but changed the call letters in 1987 to KCLQ.[5]
In 1990, the station was bought back by the Pereira Family, licensed as P & C Broadcasting. A Portuguese music and talk format was once again heard on AM 620. The original call letters "KNGS" were no longer available so the station became KIGS.
On July 27, 2012, the license for the station was transferred from Maria Pereira,[6] who died on February 11, 2012 (given in FCC documents as Maria O. Pereira),[7] to John Pereira, the Special Administrator of Maria Pereira's estate.[8] On July 31, the station temporarily left the air, pending completion of Maria Pereira's estate administration, and the beneficiary's plans for the station.[7] In February 2013, ownership was transferred to her children, Albert Pereira and Odilia Silva.
On October 31, 2014, New Media Broadcasting bought the station from Pereira Communications. The next day, November 1, 2014, KIGS began carrying the Radio Punjab format. The purchase closed on February 3, 2015.
