Midwest Communications
Encyclopedia
Midwest Communications, Inc. consists of Midwest Communications, Inc. and WRIG, Inc., which collectively own forty-six (46) radio stations. The Company got its start in Wausau, Wisconsin, with WRIG, Inc. and the acquisition by the D.E. Wright family of a 1400 kHz, 250 watt AM facility from the Wisconsin Valley Television Corporation. The call letters WRIG
(for Wright) were assigned and on August 1, 1958, top forty-formatted WRIG signed on the air. Power was increased to 1,000 watts in 1961 and WRIG-FM (now WDEZ
) signed on in 1964. Midwest built WROE
in Appleton/Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1971. In 1975 Midwest purchased WBAY-AM and WBAY-FM, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Due to FCC rules at that time, WROE was sold. The Green Bay call letters were changed to WGEE-AM (now WTAQ-AM) and WIXX-FM
. The 1980’s saw the acquisition by Midwest of KIOA
& KMGK
, Des Moines, Iowa, WKKQ(now WNMT
) & WTBX, Hibbing, Minnesota and KLMS
& KFMQ, Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition WRIG moved to 1390 kHz and increased power to 5000 watts day and night.
The 1990’s brought radical changes in FCC ownership rules, and Midwest took advantage of the changes by consolidating in the Green Bay
-Appleton/Oshkosh
and Wausau
-Stevens Point
markets. The consolidation brought about the sale of the Des Moines, Lincoln and Hibbing stations and the acquisitions of WROE
, WOZZ, WLTM (now WRQE), WNCY and WNFL in Green Bay-Appleton/Oshkosh and WSAU, WSAU-FM, WIFC
, WOFM and WIZD
in Wausau-Stevens Point. In addition four stations WTVB
, WNWN-AM, WNWN-FM
and WFAT were acquired in the Kalamazoo
-Battle Creek, Michigan
market.
With the beginning of the new millennium, Midwest continued its expansion program with the acquisition of WHBL, WWJR (now WHBZ
) and WBFM
IN Sheboygan, Wisconsin and WHTC
& WYVN
in Holland, Michigan. It also bought the Duluth, Minnesota
/Superior, Wisconsin
market stations; KDAL
, KDAL-FM
, KHQG, WDSM
, KTCO
and WGEE
.
On June 30, 2004, Midwest Communications, Inc. acquired an additional six (6) stations in the Hibbing Minnesota market, WNMT
, WMFG (AM)
, WMFG-FM
, KMFG
, WTBX and WUSZ
, which operate in concert with the six (6) stations already owned in the Duluth, Minnesota
market.
On June 14, 2005 Midwest Communications, Inc. acquired WMGI
and WWSY
in Terre Haute, Indiana
and on December 16, 2005 added WACF and WPRS licensed to Paris, IL to the Terre Haute Indiana market.
On January 6, 2006 Midwest Communications, Inc. expanded in the Sheboygan Wisconsin market with the addition of WXER
.
On May 1, 2006 Midwest Communications, Inc. acquired three (3) additional properties in the Kalamazoo, Michigan market, WKZO, WQLR (now WVFM) and WQSN (now WQLR
).
On July 1, 2010 Duke Wright’s Midwest Communications closed on its acquisition of a four-station cluster in the Lansing-East Lansing MI market, serving the capital city of the state of Michigan. The seller was Rubber City Radio Group.
The stations include WJXQ
, WVIC
, WQTX
, and WJZL
. The price was $4.1M.
Midwest Communications, Inc. and its affiliate WRIG, Inc. continue to be owned by the D.E. Wright family and today employ over 500 people throughout the forty-six (46) station group.
On July 18, 2006, Midwest Communications broke ground on their new, $4.725 Million facility in the Green Bay, Wisconsin
suburb of Bellevue
. The facility is located on the WNFL tower site on Bellevue Street. The five Green Bay-based stations and two Appleton
-based Midwest Communications stations moved into the new facility in the Summer of 2007.http://www.wtaq.com/shared/News2004/NewsReadStory.asp?ID=96170&CAT=4
Click here to view a virtual tour of Midwest Communications' new building
WRIG
WRIG is a radio station broadcasting a Sports format. Licensed to Schofield, Wisconsin, the station serves the Wausau, Wisconsin area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications. and features programing from Fox Sports Radio...
(for Wright) were assigned and on August 1, 1958, top forty-formatted WRIG signed on the air. Power was increased to 1,000 watts in 1961 and WRIG-FM (now WDEZ
WDEZ
WDEZ is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Wausau, Wisconsin, USA the station serves the Wausau-Stevens Point area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications...
) signed on in 1964. Midwest built WROE
WYDR
WYDR is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Hits music format simulcasting co-owned WZDR.., licensed to both Neenah and Menasha and transmitting from High Cliff State Park in Northwestern Calumet County, Wisconsin...
in Appleton/Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1971. In 1975 Midwest purchased WBAY-AM and WBAY-FM, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Due to FCC rules at that time, WROE was sold. The Green Bay call letters were changed to WGEE-AM (now WTAQ-AM) and WIXX-FM
WIXX-FM
WIXX is a Top 40 formatted radio station licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, that serves the Green Bay and Appleton-Oshkosh areas. WIXX's main competition is WKSZ...
. The 1980’s saw the acquisition by Midwest of KIOA
KIOA
KIOA, "93.3 KIOA," is a classic hits radio station serving the Des Moines, Iowa, area. It is located at 93.3 on the FM dial. The station's studios are located at 1416 Locust Street in Des Moines along with Saga Communications' other Des Moines stations .-KWDM-Part 2:The 93.3 frequency got its...
& KMGK
KMGK
KMGK, also known as Smooth Magic 107.1, is a radio station with a Soft Gold format based in Glenwood, Minnesota owned by Branstock Communications. Smooth Magic 107 plays "smooth" songs from the 1950s to the 1990s...
, Des Moines, Iowa, WKKQ(now WNMT
WNMT
WNMT is a talk radio station in Hibbing, Minnesota that broadcasts over the preassigned frequency of 650 AM. Currently WNMT is owned by Midwest Communications. Midwest also owns six radio stations on the Iron Range; KMFG, WMFG, WMFG-FM, WNMT, WTBX, WUSZ. All six stations share the same studio...
) & WTBX, Hibbing, Minnesota and KLMS
KLMS
KLMS is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, the station serves the Lincoln area. The station is currently owned by Three Eagles Communications....
& KFMQ, Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition WRIG moved to 1390 kHz and increased power to 5000 watts day and night.
The 1990’s brought radical changes in FCC ownership rules, and Midwest took advantage of the changes by consolidating in the Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
-Appleton/Oshkosh
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
and Wausau
Wausau, Wisconsin
Wausau is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city. The city is adjacent to the town of Wausau.According to the 2000 census, Wausau had a population of 38,426 people...
-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. Located in the central part of the state, it is the largest city in the county, with a population of 24,551 at the 2000 census...
markets. The consolidation brought about the sale of the Des Moines, Lincoln and Hibbing stations and the acquisitions of WROE
WYDR
WYDR is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Hits music format simulcasting co-owned WZDR.., licensed to both Neenah and Menasha and transmitting from High Cliff State Park in Northwestern Calumet County, Wisconsin...
, WOZZ, WLTM (now WRQE), WNCY and WNFL in Green Bay-Appleton/Oshkosh and WSAU, WSAU-FM, WIFC
WIFC
WIFC is a Top 40 radio station located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated locally by Midwest Communications, previously owned by [Journal Communications], Dave Raven and originally owned by Forward Communications, where the call letters were taken .Formerly WSAU-FM WIFC...
, WOFM and WIZD
WIZD
WSAU-FM is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format, simulcasting WSAU-AM in Wausau. Licensed to Rudolph, Wisconsin, USA, the station serves the Stevens Point-Wisconsin Rapids area...
in Wausau-Stevens Point. In addition four stations WTVB
WTVB
WTVB, AM 1590, is a regional radio station located in Coldwater, Michigan. It carries largely oldies music and local news and sports, with the ABC Radio Network as its source for national news, and carries Dial Global's "Kool Gold" oldies format...
, WNWN-AM, WNWN-FM
WNWN-FM
WNWN-FM is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Coldwater, Michigan with studios in Battle Creek, it first began broadcasting in 1950 under the WTVB-FM call sign at 98.3 on the FM dial and spent most of its early existence as a simulcast of sister station WTVB before...
and WFAT were acquired in the Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
-Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
market.
With the beginning of the new millennium, Midwest continued its expansion program with the acquisition of WHBL, WWJR (now WHBZ
WHBZ
WHBZ is a Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin--licensed radio station based in Sheboygan that plays a Active Rock format. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications and features the syndicated The Bob and Tom Show in the mornings, with some Fox News Radio updates and forecasts provided by...
) and WBFM
WBFM
WBFM is a country music station licensed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The station broadcasts at 93.7 MHz, on the FM dial. WBFM-FM is owned and operated by Midwest Communications under the sub-branding of Sheboygan Radio Group, which owns seven radio stations in Northeast Wisconsin and three other radio...
IN Sheboygan, Wisconsin and WHTC
WHTC
WHTC is a news/talk AM radio station broadcasting at 1450 kHz in Holland, Michigan.The station signed on July 31, 1948 at 6pm and originally was owned by six Holland-area businessmen: I.H Marsilje, Nelson Bosman , W.A. Butler , Millard Westrate, Willard Wichers and P.T. Chef...
& WYVN
WYVN
For the West Virginia television station that carried this callsign, please see WWPX.WYVN is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format licensed to Saugatuck, Michigan, with studios in Holland, Michigan and is owned along with WHTC by Midwest Communications.The station began operations on...
in Holland, Michigan. It also bought the Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
/Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
market stations; KDAL
KDAL (AM)
KDAL is an AM radio station broadcasting out of Duluth, Minnesota with a News/Talk format. KDAL is currently owned and operated by Midwest Communications. Midwest Communications also owns KDWZ, WDSM, WGEE, KTCO, and KDAL-FM in Duluth...
, KDAL-FM
KDAL-FM
KDAL-FM "Rock 96" is a radio station in Duluth, Minnesota airing a mainstream rock format.KDAL-FM is owned by Midwest Communications, which also owns KDWZ, WDSM, WGEE, KDAL, and KTCO in Duluth...
, KHQG, WDSM
WDSM
WDSM is a talk radio station in Duluth, Minnesota, . WDSM was created in 1938 as an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System. The requested call letters were W Duluth Superior Mutual. WDSM provided Mutual programming throughout the Iron Range of Norther Minnesota as well as the...
, KTCO
KTCO
KTCO is a radio station in Duluth, Minnesota, airing a country music format. KTCO-FM is owned by Midwest Communications, which also owns KDWZ, WDSM, WGEE, KDAL, and KDAL-FM in Duluth...
and WGEE
WGEE
WGEE is a radio station licensed in Superior, Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Midwest Communications, which owns six stations in Duluth, Minnesota. All the Duluth stations share the same studio location at 715 East Central Entrance, up the hill from downtown.WGEE airs programming...
.
On June 30, 2004, Midwest Communications, Inc. acquired an additional six (6) stations in the Hibbing Minnesota market, WNMT
WNMT
WNMT is a talk radio station in Hibbing, Minnesota that broadcasts over the preassigned frequency of 650 AM. Currently WNMT is owned by Midwest Communications. Midwest also owns six radio stations on the Iron Range; KMFG, WMFG, WMFG-FM, WNMT, WTBX, WUSZ. All six stations share the same studio...
, WMFG (AM)
WMFG (AM)
WMFG is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards format. Licensed to Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, the station serves the Iron Range area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications and features programing from Westwood One and Dial Global.Midwest also owns six radio stations on...
, WMFG-FM
WMFG-FM
WMFG-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Hits format. Licensed to Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, the station serves the Hibbing area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications, and features programing from Classic Hits Radio ....
, KMFG
KMFG
KMFG is a radio station broadcasting a Classic rock format. Licensed to Nashwauk, Minnesota, USA, the station serves the Iron Range area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications, and features programing from ABC Radio and Jones Radio Network.Midwest also owns five other radio...
, WTBX and WUSZ
WUSZ
WUSZ "Radio USA" is a U.S. radio station in Hibbing, Minnesota, serving the Iron Range region. The station airs Country Music, and is owned by Midwest Communications....
, which operate in concert with the six (6) stations already owned in the Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
market.
On June 14, 2005 Midwest Communications, Inc. acquired WMGI
WMGI
WMGI, "100.7 MIX FM " is an FM radio station owned by Midwest Communications, Inc. in Terre Haute, Indiana. The station operates on the FM radio frequency of 100.7 MHz, FM channel 264. The studios are located at 824 South 3rd Street in Terre Haute....
and WWSY
WWSY
WWSY is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Hits format. Licensed to Seelyville, Indiana, USA, the station serves the Terre Haute area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications, Inc..-History:...
in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
and on December 16, 2005 added WACF and WPRS licensed to Paris, IL to the Terre Haute Indiana market.
On January 6, 2006 Midwest Communications, Inc. expanded in the Sheboygan Wisconsin market with the addition of WXER
WXER
WXER is a Hot AC FM radio station broadcasting on 104.5 MHz in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, which is owned by Midwest Communications. The station is licensed to the city of Plymouth and broadcasts from a tower southwest of the city....
.
On May 1, 2006 Midwest Communications, Inc. acquired three (3) additional properties in the Kalamazoo, Michigan market, WKZO, WQLR (now WVFM) and WQSN (now WQLR
WQLR
WVFM, known simply as FM 106.5 and formerly WQLR, is a Classic Hits-leaning Adult Contemporary outlet serving the Kalamazoo, Michigan radio market. The station's frequency is 106.5 MHz on the FM dial with an ERP of 33 kW. They are owned by Midwest Communications. WVFM 106.5 is located on...
).
On July 1, 2010 Duke Wright’s Midwest Communications closed on its acquisition of a four-station cluster in the Lansing-East Lansing MI market, serving the capital city of the state of Michigan. The seller was Rubber City Radio Group.
The stations include WJXQ
WJXQ
WJXQ is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Licensed to Charlotte, Michigan, it first began broadcasting under the WKHM-FM call sign. Its studios are located on Cedar St...
, WVIC
WVIC
WVIC is a radio station broadcasting a modern rock format. Licensed to Jackson, Michigan, it first began broadcasting on July 14, 1958 as WMKZ-FM simulcasting WIBM-AM. The station broadcasts from a tower near Springport, Michigan. The station can be heard from Kalamazoo to Ypsilanti, and from...
, WQTX
WQTX
WQTX is a radio station broadcasting a country music radio format to Lansing, Michigan. Licensed to St. Johns, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1972 and has been through a number of different calls and formats during its history....
, and WJZL
WLMI
WVTT is an FM radio station licensed to Portville, New York. The station, broadcasting at 96.7 MHz, is owned by Colonial Radio Group and broadcasts a talk radio format.Prior to October 2011, WVTT was licensed to Kane, Pennsylvania at 103.9 MHz...
. The price was $4.1M.
Midwest Communications, Inc. and its affiliate WRIG, Inc. continue to be owned by the D.E. Wright family and today employ over 500 people throughout the forty-six (46) station group.
New Green Bay Offices & Studios
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
suburb of Bellevue
Bellevue, Wisconsin
Bellevue is a village in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. It was a town until incorporating as a village on February 14, 2003. The population of the area that became the village was 11,828 in 2000...
. The facility is located on the WNFL tower site on Bellevue Street. The five Green Bay-based stations and two Appleton
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
-based Midwest Communications stations moved into the new facility in the Summer of 2007.http://www.wtaq.com/shared/News2004/NewsReadStory.asp?ID=96170&CAT=4
Click here to view a virtual tour of Midwest Communications' new building
Note
Midwest Communications should not be confused with the these similarly named companies:- Midwest Television, owners of San DiegoSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
stations KFMB (AM)KFMB (AM)KFMB is a conservative talk radio station in San Diego, California, co-owned with KFMB-FM and KFMB-TV. KFMB is one of the few stations in the U.S. that increases power at night. The daytime power is limited due to KBRT , a religious-programming station with transmitters on Santa Catalina Island....
, KFMB-FMKFMB-FMKFMB-FM is a commercial radio station located in San Diego, California, broadcasting on 100.7 FM. KFMB-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack FM".-History:...
and KFMB-TVKFMB-TVKFMB-TV is the local CBS television affiliate in San Diego, California. Its studios are located on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego along with its sister radio stations, AM 760 and FM 100.7...
- Midwest Radio and Television, former owners of WCCO-AMWCCO-AMWCCO is a radio station located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The station broadcasts on a clear-channel frequency and is owned by CBS Radio. The station's studios are located in downtown Minneapolis, while its transmitter is located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.With 50,000 watts of power, WCCO's...
and WCCO-FMWLTEWLTE is a radio station in Minneapolis-St. Paul that carries a "Lite rock" adult contemporary format and has done so for more than two decades. WLTE is owned by CBS Corporation, which also owns WCCO radio today...
radio and WCCOWCCO-TVWCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...
television in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, plus WFRV-TVWFRV-TVWFRV-TV is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and serving Green Bay, the Fox Valley, and Northeastern Wisconsin. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter north of the Brown County town of Morrison...
in Green Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
and WJMN-TVWFRV-TVWFRV-TV is a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and serving Green Bay, the Fox Valley, and Northeastern Wisconsin. The station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter north of the Brown County town of Morrison...
in Escanaba, MichiganEscanaba, MichiganEscanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...
; all stations were later sold to CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
- Mid-West Family BroadcastingMid-West Family BroadcastingMid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison and LaCrosse, WI, Benton Harbor/St Joseph, MI, Springfield, IL and Springfield, MO....
, an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, WisconsinMadison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....