Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
WLKU
WLKU is a radio station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, with a Christian contemporary format. The station's frequency is 98.9 MHz, and broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 39,000 watts, from a transmitter located near Orion, Illinois. WLKU is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and is affiliated with the K-Love network.
The Rock Island allocation of 98.9 MHz represents many milestones in Quad Cities' radio broadcasting. First, it was the first FM station to originate in the area, signing on as WHBF-FM on October 28, 1947. It was owned by the Rock Island Argus.
Second, WHBF-FM became the area's first radio station to broadcast in stereo, implementing the technology in 1958. Stereo multiplexing followed in 1961, with automation coming a few years later.
WHBF-FM's first home was the Harms Hotel, where it broadcast alongside sister station WHBF. As with most FM stations of the era, WHBF either duplicated the AM station's programming or used a classical music/easy listening format. WHBF-TV joined the fold in July 1950, with all three facilities housed in the Telco Building in downtown Rock Island. All three stations were owned by the Potter family of Rock Island, the same family that published the Rock Island Argus.
In the early 1970s, WHBF-FM moved away from its classical/easy listening format, and for a short while, shared WHBF's middle-of-the-road (MOR) format. When WHBF began its country music format in 1974, WHBF-FM continued its MOR format for another decade.
By 1987, with tastes in radio listenership changing, WHBF-FM adopted a new contemporary hit radio format, in an attempt to draw a younger audience. The new station – now dubbed WPXR and known as "Power 98.9" - premiered on March 17, and was an immediate success. The station quickly drew listeners away from the Quad Cities' market's established top 40 station, KIIK 104, and soon became the area's #1 top 40 station. Often, "Power 98.9" duked it out with country station WLLR-FM for supremacy in the market.
In 1987, David Roth (uncle to David Lee Roth of Van Halen) bought the FM/AM, and in the mid-1990s, WPXR shifted to "The New Sound", featuring urban contemporary and alternative rock music. Listeners did not like "The New Sound", and on June 30, 1995, the station reverted to the Top 40/CHR format, this time with the slogan "All Hit 98.9". The callsign WHTS became effective on July 28. For several years, WHTS carried "The Bob & Tom Show" during its morning programming block until the show moved to KUUL in 2001, to make way for a local morning show.
Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) operated "All Hit 98.9" under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with the station's owner, Mercury Broadcasting Company, for several years. Clear Channel already owned six stations in the Quad Cities market: WLLR-FM, KUUL-FM, KMXG-FM, KCQQ-FM, WOC, and WFXN. Because purchasing additional stations would have placed Clear Channel over Federal Communications Commission ownership limits for the market, a JSA was used instead. (Clear Channel used to operate Mercury Broadcasting's other station in the market, WKBF, in this manner).
Hub AI
WLKU AI simulator
(@WLKU_simulator)
WLKU
WLKU is a radio station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, with a Christian contemporary format. The station's frequency is 98.9 MHz, and broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 39,000 watts, from a transmitter located near Orion, Illinois. WLKU is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and is affiliated with the K-Love network.
The Rock Island allocation of 98.9 MHz represents many milestones in Quad Cities' radio broadcasting. First, it was the first FM station to originate in the area, signing on as WHBF-FM on October 28, 1947. It was owned by the Rock Island Argus.
Second, WHBF-FM became the area's first radio station to broadcast in stereo, implementing the technology in 1958. Stereo multiplexing followed in 1961, with automation coming a few years later.
WHBF-FM's first home was the Harms Hotel, where it broadcast alongside sister station WHBF. As with most FM stations of the era, WHBF either duplicated the AM station's programming or used a classical music/easy listening format. WHBF-TV joined the fold in July 1950, with all three facilities housed in the Telco Building in downtown Rock Island. All three stations were owned by the Potter family of Rock Island, the same family that published the Rock Island Argus.
In the early 1970s, WHBF-FM moved away from its classical/easy listening format, and for a short while, shared WHBF's middle-of-the-road (MOR) format. When WHBF began its country music format in 1974, WHBF-FM continued its MOR format for another decade.
By 1987, with tastes in radio listenership changing, WHBF-FM adopted a new contemporary hit radio format, in an attempt to draw a younger audience. The new station – now dubbed WPXR and known as "Power 98.9" - premiered on March 17, and was an immediate success. The station quickly drew listeners away from the Quad Cities' market's established top 40 station, KIIK 104, and soon became the area's #1 top 40 station. Often, "Power 98.9" duked it out with country station WLLR-FM for supremacy in the market.
In 1987, David Roth (uncle to David Lee Roth of Van Halen) bought the FM/AM, and in the mid-1990s, WPXR shifted to "The New Sound", featuring urban contemporary and alternative rock music. Listeners did not like "The New Sound", and on June 30, 1995, the station reverted to the Top 40/CHR format, this time with the slogan "All Hit 98.9". The callsign WHTS became effective on July 28. For several years, WHTS carried "The Bob & Tom Show" during its morning programming block until the show moved to KUUL in 2001, to make way for a local morning show.
Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) operated "All Hit 98.9" under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with the station's owner, Mercury Broadcasting Company, for several years. Clear Channel already owned six stations in the Quad Cities market: WLLR-FM, KUUL-FM, KMXG-FM, KCQQ-FM, WOC, and WFXN. Because purchasing additional stations would have placed Clear Channel over Federal Communications Commission ownership limits for the market, a JSA was used instead. (Clear Channel used to operate Mercury Broadcasting's other station in the market, WKBF, in this manner).