KEEY-FM (102.1 MHz, "K102") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station 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 radi ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, and serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. It broadcasts a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

s and offices are on Utica Avenue South in

St. Louis Park St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis. Other adjacent cities include Edina, Golden Valley, Minnetonka, Ply ...

. KEEY-FM carries two

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

programs from co-owned

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...

: '' CMT Nights with Cody Alan'', heard overnight, and ''

The Bobby Bones Show ''The Bobby Bones Show'' is an American nationally syndicated country music radio show aired during the morning drive. The Bobby Bones Show originated in Austin, Texas, but now originates from studios at WSIX-FM in Nashville. The show is syndica ...

'', heard Sunday evenings. KEEY-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ...

(ERP) of 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

is on Ramby Avenue in Shoreview, near

Interstate 694 Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US H ...

. KEEY-FM broadcasts using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

technology; the HD2

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compressi ...

carries a

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

format, while their HD3 subchannel

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simult ...

s the

Hmong language Hmong / Mong (; RPA: ''Hmoob,'' ; Nyiakeng Puachue: ; Pahawh: , ) is a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmongic languages spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hainan, northern Vietnam, Thailand, a ...

format originating on WIXK (1590 AM); the HD3 sub-channel feeds

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

K294AM (106.7 MHz).

History

KSTP-FM

The 102.1 FM frequency was originally home to

KSTP-FM KSTP-FM (94.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. It is the flagship FM station of Hubbard Broadcasting and airs a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station ha ...

, which launched in 1947. The station was the FM counterpart of

Hubbard Broadcasting Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard. The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, ...

's AM 1500 KSTP. However, few people owned FM radios in those days, and management was doubtful the station could become profitable. Hubbard shut down the original KSTP-FM in 1952, and the license was cancelled. The current KSTP-FM was re-established in 1965 on its present-day 94.5 MHz frequency.

WMIN-FM

The owners of WMIN (1400 AM) relaunched the station on October 1, 1967. It originally had the WMIN-FM

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assig ...

and it

the AM station. It became KEEY ("Key") in 1968, ending the simulcast. The FM station programmed

Drake-Chenault Drake-Chenault Enterprises (originally American Independent Radio Inc.) was a radio broadcast syndication, syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and de ...

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

"Hit Parade '68", an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

format with no

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

s. Drake's promotional materials indicated it was targeted to the 18-49 age group, for "those people who may not like Top 40 as a steady diet, and those who are not particularly fond of some of the outdated

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

stations".

K102

In 1971, KEEY-FM switched to

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator m ...

, along with its AM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

of the same name. The FM station was later co-owned with another AM station,

WDGY WDGY (740 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. It is owned by WRPX, inc. and airs a Classic Hits/Oldies radio format. The station's studios and offices ...

. KEEY-FM played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of popular songs, along with some

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

show tunes. KEEY-FM and WDGY switched to the current country music format in late 1982 as "K102." KEEY-FM quickly became a dominant force in the market. In 2000, the station was acquired by AMFM, Inc., a forerunner of today's iHeartMedia, Inc.

Awards

K102 was named "Major Market Station of the Year" by the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

in 2005 while being programmed by Gregg Swedberg. In 2010, K102 was the Academy Of Country Music's "Major Market Station of the Year." In 2012, The K102 Wake-up Crew with Donna and Muss won the CMA award in the "Major Market Personalities" category. The station and its personalities have been nominated many times for CMA and ACM awards. In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

Radio & Records magazine station of the year award. Other nominees included WUSN Chicago, KYGO-FM Denver, WYCD Detroit,

WXTU WXTU (92.5 FM) is a commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, the station broadcasts a country music format. Its studios and offices are located at 1 Bala Plaza on East City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, ...

Philadelphia, and KSON-FM San Diego.

HD Radio

On April 25, 2006, iHeartMedia (then known as

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

) announced that KEEY-FM would broadcast an

signal. KEEY-FM's HD2 signal, known as "K*102 New", carried a format focusing on new hits from today's and up-and-coming

stars. Formerly during Christmas time, KEEY-HD2 carried

KQQL KQQL (107.9 Hertz, MHz, KOOL 108) is a commercial radio, commercial FM radio, FM radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul media market, radio market and is city of license, licensed to suburban Anoka, Minnesota, Anoka. It plays classic hi ...

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

format when that co-owned station switched to all

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...

. In November 2018, KEEY-FM launched an HD3 sub-channel carrying a

format known as "The Breeze", as well as relaunching and rebranding KEEY-FM HD2 as "The Wolf 102.1 HD2". In May 2019, KEEY-HD2 reverted to its previous "K102 New" branding. Competitor country station

KMNB KMNB (102.9 MHz, "The Wolf") is an American commercial FM radio station in Minneapolis-St. Paul that carries a country radio format. KMNB is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its main transmitter is located on the KMSP Tower in Shoreview, Minnesota, wit ...

now calls itself "102.9 The Wolf." In August 2019, KEEY-FM HD2's Country music format was replaced with

Christian Contemporary Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and ...

music from iHeart's "UP!" network. As of April 2021, the "Breeze" programming that was airing on KEEY-HD3 moved to the HD2 sub-channel. The HD3 sub-channel was then flipped to a simulcast of

WIXK, and became the new relay for

K294AM (106.7 MHz, licensed to West St. Paul).No Twin Cities K-Love Upgrade as PraiseLive, Air 1 Get New Signals
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References

External links

K102 KEEY-FM official website

Radiotapes.com Featuring an aircheck of KEEY's Hit Parade '71, an aircheck when the station programmed Beautiful Music in 1976 plus airchecks and videos of other Minneapolis/St. Paul radio stations dating back to 1924
{{coord, 45.058306, N, 93.124389, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Country radio stations in the United States HD Radio stations Radio stations established in 1967 IHeartMedia radio stations