Walton, Jr. bought KTAN in April 1967, promptly donating his former daytimer KFIF at 1550 kHz to the University of Arizona (that station is now KUAZ). On May 1, 1967, KTAN signed off, being replaced on May 18 with a relocated KFIF under a new call sign, KIKX (meaning "Kicks Radio"); the new station did not retain KTAN's NBC affiliation, which transferred to KCEE, but it did move into KTAN's studios at the Sands Hotel. During this time, Shadoe Stevens was one of the radio station's DJs and for a time was its program director. By 1971, KIKX maintained an affiliation with the Mutual Broadcasting System, but by 1974, it was affiliated with the ABC Contemporary network and carried a Top 40/rock format. 1974 kidnapping promotion A 1974 promotion gone wrong would ultimately be the catalyst for the station's demise. The promotion announced the kidnapping of one of the station's DJs, Gary Craig (real name Arthur Gopen), who at that time had taken over KIKX's morning show; the intention was that Craig would "disappear", call into the station from Miami, and then call in from various cities on his way back to Tucson, with lucky listeners who were able to identify the cities winning prizes. Regular newscasts beginning on Saturday, January 19, 1974, reported his kidnapping. Concerned listeners contacted the Tucson Police Department, which was initially told by station staff that the DJ had indeed been kidnapped; their phone lines were tied up with calls about the alleged crime. While station staff became concerned, the program director allowed the promotion to continue, while the general manager did not know about the complaints until he returned to work after the weekend. After the Federal Communications Commission announced an investigation on January 22, the station canceled the promotion, broadcasting apologies from the general manager and from station owner Walton; the station also fired all of the staff responsible for the incident. A 2011 book described the plot as "one of the dumbest ideas in the history of radio". That year, the station had filed for its license renewal; in December, the FCC designated the renewal for hearing. Various allegations came up against the station, with technical violations, failure to mention sponsorships, and poor logging of commercials arising as concerns. The FCC additionally charged that Gopen had signed program logs using a false name and that the station had broadcast a telephone call