The station initially was assigned the call letters KYRH on February 7, 1990, by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission; on April 1, the station changed its call sign to KHCS.[2] However, the station would not make its on-air debut until January 1993, three years later.[3]
From its inception, KHCS was owned by Prairie Avenue Gospel Center, a church based in Long Beach, California,[4] and carried a contemporary inspirational format. Branded "Joy92" and positioning itself as "the Desert's Christian Radio", the station aired a variety of music, talk and teaching programming, much of it produced locally in Southern California.
On April 5, 2018, KHCS entered into an affiliation agreement with Educational Media Foundation to carry the latter's Christian contemporary hit radio network Air1; the Joy92 programming was dropped.[4] On April 20, EMF purchased KHCS from Prairie Avenue Gospel Center for $450,000;[5][6] the purchase was consummated on June 27, 2018.
