KDWB-FM

KDWB-FM (101.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, licensed to suburban Richfield. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and airs a contemporary hit radio format.

KDWB has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. KDWB's transmitter broadcasts from the KMSP Tower in Shoreview.

KDWB has an auxiliary transmitter with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 32,540 watts located at the IDS Center in Downtown Minneapolis. Studios are located in St. Louis Park.

Between its AM and FM frequencies, KDWB has been an uninterrupted Top 40 outlet since 1959, originally at 630 kHz. KDWB gained an FM sister in 1976, when then-owner Doubleday Broadcasting purchased the 101.3 MHz frequency, later transferring the format there as FM stations attracted listeners from AM.

KDWB's origins date back to 1951 on the AM dial at 1590 kHz. The station was launched in August 1951, licensed to South St. Paul by the Tedesco brothers, Al, Vic and Nick, as WCOW. On the air between dawn and dusk, the station played country western and old-time music and signed on each day with a cowbell. The offices and studios were located at 208 Third Avenue N., and the transmitter was located at 158 White Bear Avenue in North St. Paul. The Tedesco brothers had attempted to get into television the previous year, on channel 17, but financial backing fell through. (The channel 17 allocation was granted to Twin Cities Public Television in 1965.)

WCOW was not successful, so the station transitioned to a female-oriented format, with the call letters changing to WISK in May 1956, and switched its frequency to 630 kHz the next year. Once more, the format proved unpopular, and the station was sold the following year to the Crowell-Collier Broadcasting Company, owners of KFWB in Los Angeles and KEWB in San Francisco. The top 40 format of those stations, with strong California/West Coast style influence, was brought to Minnesota, and the call letters changed to KDWB in September 1959. "Channel 63, KDWB" then began its long uninterrupted run as a pop music station, and quickly became a major competitor to the established WDGY, which had been playing a pop music format for three years by that point. KDWB and WDGY were fierce rivals throughout the 1960s and 1970s; during that time, both stations gained more competition, as "Request Radio" AM 950 and FM 104.1 KRSI (1968), KSTP (1972), and WYOO (1974) picked up the format.

As KDWB, the station became the first radio station to be fined by the Federal Communications Commission. In March 1961, six months after a review of the Communications Act of 1934 granted it such power, the agency assessed a $10,000 penalty to the station for repeated willful violations of nighttime broadcast power restrictions on the AM band.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Program Director Chuck Blore referred to the seven air shifts in 24 hours as "The 7 Swinging Gentlemen". They included: