WDGY
Encyclopedia
WREY is a Spanish-language radio station
with studios located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. It is licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota
, although it was licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin
from 1997 to 2005. It is a full market coverage radio station of Minneapolis/St.Paul. The Transmitters are currently located on several radio towers in the outside suburb of Woodbury, along South Washington County Highway 19.
, from 1959 until 1986. For almost two decades, they were a heated rival of the original WDGY
, located at 1130 kHz. When WDGY dropped their call letters to become KFAN, KDWB's owner adopted the abandoned WDGY call sign for 630 kHz, where they remained until 2008.
and old-time music. In the early days, WCOW signed on with a cowbell. Vic, Nick, and Al Tedesco, who had previously put together a station in Stillwater, Minnesota
, attempted to get into television on channel 17 the next year, but financial backing fell through. The channel 17 allocation was taken by Twin Cities Public Television
in 1965.
. The top 40 format of those stations was brought to Minnesota as the new KDWB was launched on October 1, 1959. It quickly became a major competitor to WDGY
, which had been playing a pop music format for a few years by that point. With the 630 kHz frequency, KDWB called itself "Channel 63" and the station began its long uninterrupted run as a pop music station.
KDWB and WDGY were fierce rivals throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1970s, both stations gained even more competition, as KSTP and WYOO
(U100) picked up the format. In 1976, Doubleday Broadcasting, then owner of KDWB, desired to purchase a station on the rapidly growing FM dial. They found a willing seller in the owner of U100, which at the time was the only Top 40 station simulcasting on both AM and FM. In February 1976, Doubleday announced it would purchase 101.3 MHz, with the intention of simulcasting KDWB. On September 16, 1976, with the sale official, KDWB signed on their FM simulcast with morning personality True Don Bleu at 6 AM.
A few years later, their Top 40 rivals gradually dropped out of the format. U100 was gone in the sale of their two stations. WDGY flipped to country music
in September 1977; KSTP began to lean adult top 40 during the late 1970s and slowly evolved into its longtime news/talk
format by the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, KDWB was the only ongoing Top 40 station in town.
With the active competition gone, KDWB-FM split apart from the AM station's Top 40 simulcast in September 1979 and became a pop/rock hybrid as "K101." K101 soon morphed into "Stereo 101," an album oriented rock station designed to go up against KQRS-FM, which had recently dumped their free-form rock
presentation and adopted a stricter playlist. "Stereo 101" proved to be mildly successful, even topping KQRS in the ratings several times. During the four year run of Stereo 101, new Top 40 stations began appearing on the FM dial, first with WLOL
in December 1981, which quickly became one of the most successful stations in the market and later an attempt by WCCO-FM
, which was not nearly as successful. Both moves crippled 63 KDWB's longtime dominance of the format, since they were at a disadvantage against more powerful FM stereo signals. The massive top three ratings success of WLOL, combined with rapidly falling ratings for the AM station, resulted in Stereo 101 ditching AOR in early 1984 and returning to Top 40 as "101 KDWB", this time as the dominant station in the AM/FM combo.
Over the next two years, both stations aired similar formats and continued to simulcast from time to time, until the AM station split off on its own early in 1986 with an automated syndicated oldies
format
from Unistar as "K63", meeting with mild success.
format, similar to what had been aired on 1130 kHz throughout the 1980s. Ratings for the country format did not meet up to expectations, and in September 1992, they temporarily returned to a simulcast with KDWB
(The legal ID at the top of the hour identified both KDWB and WDGY, and Arbitron
listed them as KDWB/WDGY).
WDGY switched to an adult standards
format in March 1993, which gave it a respectable boost in ratings. As Midcontinent Media, then owner of KDWB
, were looking to sell WDGY, the owner of WMIN
, Borgen Broadcasting, agreed to lease the station through a local marketing agreement. This did not last long, as Midcontinent decided to sell and commercially redevelop the property in Woodbury
that was home to the station's six-tower array. Hence, on April 18, 1994, with no transmission facility available and demand for AM radio very low, 630 kHz went dark.
The owner of WMIN
bought the silent WDGY in October 1996, as plans were made to return the station to the air. WDGY returned in January 1997 as a Hudson, Wisconsin
-based entity with a new owner and the same call letters, airing a talk radio
format that featured hosts like Don Imus
, G. Gordon Liddy
and Don and Mike
, with oldies
from 6 PM to 6 AM. In February, 1998, syndicated sports talk replaced oldies during those hours.
broadcasters had leased weekend time on WMIN for several years as "Radio Rey." On January 1, 1999, WMIN went full-time Radio Rey, broadcasting from a grocery store on the west side of St. Paul. Radio Rey flipped back and forth between WMIN and WDGY for several years before finally settling on WDGY for good in July 2001. For most of 2005, WMIN ran a complementary regional Mexican
format, "La Nueva Ley," also programmed by the Radio Rey group.
WDGY eventually secured a transmitter site closer to the heart of the metro area, which allowed it to boost its power and change its city of license back to Saint Paul by the end of 2005.
The WREY call sign has been used on other stations in the past, most recently on what is now WMVB in Millville, New Jersey
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
with studios located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. It is licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, although it was licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin
Hudson, Wisconsin
Hudson is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 18,937, making it the principal and largest city of the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area . The Hudson area however had a population of 39,713...
from 1997 to 2005. It is a full market coverage radio station of Minneapolis/St.Paul. The Transmitters are currently located on several radio towers in the outside suburb of Woodbury, along South Washington County Highway 19.
History
The 630 kHz frequency is perhaps best known as the longtime home of KDWBKDWB
KDWB-FM is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, the radio format was known for over fifty years as a major contemporary hit radio Top 40 pop music outlet. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. It broadcasts in 5.1 cinema-quality...
, from 1959 until 1986. For almost two decades, they were a heated rival of the original WDGY
KFAN (AM)
* See also KFXN-FMKTCN —branded News/Talk 1130—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a conservative news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KTCN's main studios are in St...
, located at 1130 kHz. When WDGY dropped their call letters to become KFAN, KDWB's owner adopted the abandoned WDGY call sign for 630 kHz, where they remained until 2008.
Early history
The frequency signed on in 1951, at 1590 kHz. It began as a collaboration between three brothers who named it WCOW, which was an odd station playing countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and old-time music. In the early days, WCOW signed on with a cowbell. Vic, Nick, and Al Tedesco, who had previously put together a station in Stillwater, Minnesota
Stillwater, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,797 households, and 4,115 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,340.0 people per square mile . There were 5,926 housing units at an average density of 915.7 per square mile...
, attempted to get into television on channel 17 the next year, but financial backing fell through. The channel 17 allocation was taken by Twin Cities Public Television
Twin Cities Public Television
Twin Cities Public Television is a non-profit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two Public Broadcasting Service member Public television stations, KTCA-TV and KTCI-TV...
in 1965.
63 KDWB
WCOW was not very successful, so the station transitioned to a female-oriented format with the call sign WISK in 1957, and the frequency was changed to 630 kHz the next year. This format was also unsuccessful, and the station was soon sold to Crowell-Collier Broadcasting Company, who owned KFWB and KEWB in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The top 40 format of those stations was brought to Minnesota as the new KDWB was launched on October 1, 1959. It quickly became a major competitor to WDGY
KFAN (AM)
* See also KFXN-FMKTCN —branded News/Talk 1130—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a conservative news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KTCN's main studios are in St...
, which had been playing a pop music format for a few years by that point. With the 630 kHz frequency, KDWB called itself "Channel 63" and the station began its long uninterrupted run as a pop music station.
KDWB and WDGY were fierce rivals throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1970s, both stations gained even more competition, as KSTP and WYOO
KKMS
KKMS is a Salem Communications-owned radio station licensed to Richfield, Minnesota, United States and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Studios are located in Eagan, Minnesota...
(U100) picked up the format. In 1976, Doubleday Broadcasting, then owner of KDWB, desired to purchase a station on the rapidly growing FM dial. They found a willing seller in the owner of U100, which at the time was the only Top 40 station simulcasting on both AM and FM. In February 1976, Doubleday announced it would purchase 101.3 MHz, with the intention of simulcasting KDWB. On September 16, 1976, with the sale official, KDWB signed on their FM simulcast with morning personality True Don Bleu at 6 AM.
A few years later, their Top 40 rivals gradually dropped out of the format. U100 was gone in the sale of their two stations. WDGY flipped to country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
in September 1977; KSTP began to lean adult top 40 during the late 1970s and slowly evolved into its longtime news/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format by the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, KDWB was the only ongoing Top 40 station in town.
With the active competition gone, KDWB-FM split apart from the AM station's Top 40 simulcast in September 1979 and became a pop/rock hybrid as "K101." K101 soon morphed into "Stereo 101," an album oriented rock station designed to go up against KQRS-FM, which had recently dumped their free-form rock
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
presentation and adopted a stricter playlist. "Stereo 101" proved to be mildly successful, even topping KQRS in the ratings several times. During the four year run of Stereo 101, new Top 40 stations began appearing on the FM dial, first with WLOL
KSJN
KSJN is the flagship station of Minnesota Public Radio's classical music network, serving the Twin Cities region. Prior to 1991, 99.5 was known as WLOL, best known as a top-rated CHR station during the 1980s.-KSJN intellectual unit:...
in December 1981, which quickly became one of the most successful stations in the market and later an attempt by WCCO-FM
WLTE
WLTE 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...
, which was not nearly as successful. Both moves crippled 63 KDWB's longtime dominance of the format, since they were at a disadvantage against more powerful FM stereo signals. The massive top three ratings success of WLOL, combined with rapidly falling ratings for the AM station, resulted in Stereo 101 ditching AOR in early 1984 and returning to Top 40 as "101 KDWB", this time as the dominant station in the AM/FM combo.
Over the next two years, both stations aired similar formats and continued to simulcast from time to time, until the AM station split off on its own early in 1986 with an automated syndicated oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format
Kool Gold
Kool Gold is a 24-hour music format produced by Dial Global. Its playlist is composed of oldies music from the mid 1960s to mid 1980s, from artists such as Billy Joel, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, Rod Stewart and dozens more artists mainly targeted at listeners 45-54...
from Unistar as "K63", meeting with mild success.
630 AM becomes WDGY, goes dark, returns
In 1991, 630 AM picked up the WDGY call letters after 1130 AM abandoned them to become KFAN. The new WDGY adopted a classic country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
format, similar to what had been aired on 1130 kHz throughout the 1980s. Ratings for the country format did not meet up to expectations, and in September 1992, they temporarily returned to a simulcast with KDWB
KDWB
KDWB-FM is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, the radio format was known for over fifty years as a major contemporary hit radio Top 40 pop music outlet. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. It broadcasts in 5.1 cinema-quality...
(The legal ID at the top of the hour identified both KDWB and WDGY, and Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
listed them as KDWB/WDGY).
WDGY switched to an adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
format in March 1993, which gave it a respectable boost in ratings. As Midcontinent Media, then owner of KDWB
KDWB
KDWB-FM is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, the radio format was known for over fifty years as a major contemporary hit radio Top 40 pop music outlet. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. It broadcasts in 5.1 cinema-quality...
, were looking to sell WDGY, the owner of WMIN
WMIN
WMIN is a radio station licensed to serve Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, USA. The station is part of the Tri-County Broadcasting group and the broadcast license is held by Herbert M. Hoppe.-Programming:...
, Borgen Broadcasting, agreed to lease the station through a local marketing agreement. This did not last long, as Midcontinent decided to sell and commercially redevelop the property in Woodbury
Woodbury, Minnesota
Woodbury is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States, and is a suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It is situated east of Saint Paul along Interstate 94...
that was home to the station's six-tower array. Hence, on April 18, 1994, with no transmission facility available and demand for AM radio very low, 630 kHz went dark.
The owner of WMIN
WDGY
WREY is a Spanish-language radio station with studios located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it was licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin from 1997 to 2005. It is a full market coverage radio station of Minneapolis/St.Paul...
bought the silent WDGY in October 1996, as plans were made to return the station to the air. WDGY returned in January 1997 as a Hudson, Wisconsin
Hudson, Wisconsin
Hudson is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 18,937, making it the principal and largest city of the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area . The Hudson area however had a population of 39,713...
-based entity with a new owner and the same call letters, airing a talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format that featured hosts like Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
, G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed from July–September 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency. Separately, along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the Watergate burglaries of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in...
and Don and Mike
Don and Mike
The Don and Mike Show was an American nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by the shock jocks Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara, which aired from December 1985 through April 2008, when Geronimo retired in order to focus on his personal life. After Geronimo's retirement, the remaining cast...
, with oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
from 6 PM to 6 AM. In February, 1998, syndicated sports talk replaced oldies during those hours.
Radio Rey
A group of local HispanicHispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
broadcasters had leased weekend time on WMIN for several years as "Radio Rey." On January 1, 1999, WMIN went full-time Radio Rey, broadcasting from a grocery store on the west side of St. Paul. Radio Rey flipped back and forth between WMIN and WDGY for several years before finally settling on WDGY for good in July 2001. For most of 2005, WMIN ran a complementary regional Mexican
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States....
format, "La Nueva Ley," also programmed by the Radio Rey group.
WDGY eventually secured a transmitter site closer to the heart of the metro area, which allowed it to boost its power and change its city of license back to Saint Paul by the end of 2005.
Call letter change to WREY
In August 2008, Radio Rey changed its call letters from WDGY to WREY. Subsequently, sister station WMIN, a True Oldies Channel affiliate at 740 AM, changed its call letters to WDGY.The WREY call sign has been used on other stations in the past, most recently on what is now WMVB in Millville, New Jersey
Millville, New Jersey
Millville is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 26,847. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
.
External links
- Radiotapes.com Historic Minneapolis/St. Paul airchecks dating back to 1924 including WDGY and other Twin Cities radio stations.
- TwinCitiesRadioAirchecks.com feature many 1970's radio airchecks, including the old WDGY. There are also old photos of the WDGY studios in Bloomington MN.
- Oldiesloon.com, featuring information about former Twin Cities Top 40 stations
- The Airheads Radio Survey Archive for 63 KDWB