Radio First (Liggett Communications, L.L.C.) is a privately held

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

company in Michigan owned by Victoria L. Liggett. Liggett Communications is headquartered in Port Huron where it owns five radio stations licensed to St. Clair and Sanilac Counties. These five stations operate under the brand name of ''Radio First'' where they serve listeners in

the Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

area of Michigan and Southwestern Ontario.

History

Liggett Broadcasting (1970-2000)

The predecessor to the current company was called Liggett Broadcasting and was founded by Robert Liggett Jr. in 1971. His first station was WFMK in the Lansing, Michigan market. He then added more stations in Lansing, as well as the Grand Rapids, Flint, and Saginaw/Bay City Markets. Liggett Broadcasting at its peak operated radio stations in Michigan, New York, Minnesota, South Carolina, Ohio, and California. Liggett's stations were sold to

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...

in 2000, with Liggett becoming a member of Citadel's board of directors. In 2000, Ligget became the owner of

Big Boy Restaurants Big Boy Restaurant Group, LLC is an American restaurant chain store, chain headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Warren, Michigan. Frisch's Big Boy Restaurants is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Big Boy name, desi ...

, headquartered in

Warren, Michigan Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 Census places the city's population at 139,387, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb. T ...

Liggett Communications (1999-Present)

In 1999, Bob Liggett announced he would purchase

WHLS WHLS (1450 AM) is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with a power output of 1,000 watts, covering much of St. Clair County, Michigan. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Aven ...

1450 and

WSAQ WSAQ (107.1 FM) is a country music radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with an effective radiated power of 6,000 watts. WSAQ covers St. Clair County, Michigan and Lambton County, Ontario as well as portions of Macomb, Lapeer, and S ...

107.1 in Port Huron from the estate of former owner John Wismer. The new company would be called Liggett Communications. Wismer had owned the stations from 1952 until he died in 1999. WSAQ and WHLS were purchased by Liggett for $3.2 million. The new Liggett Communications also entered into an agreement to purchase Hanson Communications, Wismer's crosstown competitor and licensee of

WPHM WPHM (1380 AM) is a news/ talk/sports radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with a power output of 5,000 watts, covering much of The Thumb area of Michigan. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Avenu ...

WBTI WBTI is a Top 40 radio station licensed to Lexington, Michigan at 96.9 MHz on the FM dial, with an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts. WBTI covers Sanilac County, Michigan and Lambton County, Ontario as well as portions of Lapeer and ...

, and WHYT (now WHLX). Owner Lee Hanson sold those stations to Liggett for $2.24 million. Lee Hanson died in 2015, his son Eric, owns and operates Hanson Pro Music located next to the former WPHM studios on Military Street. However, Liggett was unsuccessful in buying standalone commercial station

WGRT WGRT (102.3 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station in Port Huron, Michigan. It is owned by Port Huron Family Radio and broadcasts with a power of 3,000 watts. WGRT signed on in October 1991. The station airs a satellite-delivered AC format ( ...

, which remains the only commercial station licensed to St. Clair County not owned by Liggett. By the end of 2000, Liggett received all necessary FCC approvals to buy both Hanson Communications and Wismer Broadcasting. All five stations became a part of Liggett's new company. For about a year the Hanson stations continued to use their old studio at 2379 Military Street, which is now is home to a Coldwel Banker office and Hanson's Pro Music. Wismer's facilities at 808 Huron Avenue were expanded and now house the studios and offices for all five stations. 1380

, 96.9

, 107.1

, 1590

WHLX WHLX (1590 AM) is an Americana radio station licensed to Marine City, Michigan, with a power output of 1,000 watts day, 102 watts night. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Avenue in Downtown Port Huron. I ...

, and 1450

now operate under the collective brand name of Radio First. On May 15, 2019 control of Liggett Communication's five radio stations and two translators were transferred from Robert G. Liggett, Jr. to Victoria L. Liggett. Robert Liggett passed away on July 12, 2019.

Community Involvement

Radio First sponsors an annual local Bridal Show and Home Expo Show held at Blue Water Convention Center. The stations also support many local events, including the March of Dimes "Jail and Bail", the Child Abuse and Neglect Council's "Roof Sit", and Port Huron Police Department's CAPTURE witness tip-line.

Current Radio stations

, FM 96.9, Lexington, Michigan, ''Adult Top 40'' *

, AM 1450, Port Huron, Michigan, ''Active Rock'' * W288BT FM 105.5,

St. Clair, Michigan St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the eastern "Thumb" of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,485 at the 2010 census. The city is located on the St. Clair River near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township. Geography *A ...

, ''Active Rock'' (FM translator of

) *

, AM 1590,

Marine City, Michigan Marine City is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the west bank of the St. Clair River, it is one of the cities in the River District north of Detroit and south of Lake Huron. In the late 19th century, it was a m ...

, ''Country/Rock/Folk'' * W224DT FM 92.7, Port Huron, Michigan, ''Country/Rock/Folk'' (FM translator of

) *

AM 1380, Port Huron, Michigan, ''News/Talk/Sports'' *

, FM 107.1, Port Huron, Michigan, ''Mainstream Country Pop''

Former Radio Stations

Lansing/East Lansing

* WFMK FM 99.1, Lansing, Michigan * WITL FM 100.7, Lansing, Michigan * WJIM-FM 97.5, Lansing, Michigan * WJIM AM 1240, Lansing, Michigan * WMMQ FM 94.9,

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

* WVFN AM 730,

Saginaw/Bay City/Midland

* WHNN FM 96.1,

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metrop ...

*WBCM AM 1440,

(now WMAX (AM)) *WTCF FM 100.5,

Carrollton, Michigan Carrollton Township ( ) is a civil township of Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,103 at the 2010 census. Established in 1866, Carrollton contains a full-time police department, fire department, parks and recrea ...

(now

WSGW-FM WSGW-FM (100.5 MHz), branded FM Talk & Sports 100.5, is a radio station broadcasting a news, talk, and sports format to the Greater Tri-Cities area of Michigan. Licensed to Carrollton, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1989 under the WC ...

)

Flint

WFBE WFBE (95.1 MHz "B95") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Flint, Michigan. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a country music format. Its studios are on Taylor Drive in Mundy Township, using a Flint address. In mornin ...

FM 95.1, Flint, Michigan *

WTRX WTRX (1330 AM, "Sports XTRA 1330") is an American radio station broadcasting a sports format in Flint, Michigan. It is the Flint affiliate for Michigan Wolverines football and men's basketball, and CBS Sports Radio. Its studios are located in ...

AM 1330, Flint, Michigan

Detroit

*WCLS (now WYCD)

Minneapolis/St. Paul

*WLOL-FM (now

KSJN KSJN (99.5 FM, "YourClassical MPR") is the flagship station of Minnesota Public Radio's classical music network, serving the Twin Cities region. KSJN's studios are located at the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul, while ...

)

Adrian

WABJ WABJ (1490 AM, "NewsTalk 1490") is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Adrian, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1946. WABJ is noted as a "springboard station" for some of the most well-known names in broadcas ...

AM 1490, Adrian, Michigan *

WQTE WQTE (95.3 FM, "Q-95 Country") is a radio station in Adrian, Michigan, broadcasting a country music format. The station is live and local during the day on weekdays, and airs a satellite format from ABC Radio called "Country Coast-to-Coast" (kn ...

FM 95.3. Adrian, Michigan

Battle Creek

* WBCK AM 930, Battle Creek, Michigan (now

WFAT WFAT (930 AM) is a radio station in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, owned by Midwest Communications. Established in 1948 as WBCK, the station airs a classic hits/oldies format. History WBCK began broadcasting July 9, 1948, with a Detroi ...

) *

WBCK WBCK (95.3 FM) is a radio station in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, owned by Townsquare Media. WBCK has a news-talk format. History WBCK began broadcasting at 1000 watts on AM 930 in Battle Creek and surrounding areas of West Michigan. ...

FM 95.3, Battle Creek, Michigan * WELL AM 1400, Battle Creek, Michigan (now WBFN)

Grand Rapids

WLHT WLHT-FM (95.7 MHz) is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan owned by Townsquare Media. WLHT's studios are located on Ottawa Avenue Northwest in downtown Grand Rapids, while its transmitter is located i ...

FM 95.7,

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

WGRD-FM WGRD-FM (97.9 MHz) is a mainstream rock radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. It is the flagship station of '' The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'', a comedy/talk program, on weekday mornings. It consis ...

FM 97.9,

External links

WHLS/WHLXWPHMWBTIWSAQ

References

{{Thumb Radio , state=expanded St. Clair County, Michigan Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Mass media in Michigan Companies based in Michigan