WHEL (93.7 FM) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

licensed to

Sanibel, Florida Sanibel is an island and city in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,382 at the 2020 census, down from 6,469 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The island, al ...

, and broadcasting to the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Area. The station is owned by Sun Broadcasting and airs a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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 broadcasting, ...

branded as "Trump Country." The studios and offices are on Palm Beach Boulevard (

Florida State Road 80 State Road 80 (SR 80) (also known as Palm Beach Boulevard in Lee County and Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach County) is a route linking US 41 Business in Fort Myers and State Road A1A in Palm Beach. The road is the northernmost of three l ...

) in Fort Myers, near the

Caloosahatchee River The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National ...

. WHEL is a Class C2 FM station with 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 ha ...

(ERP) of 43,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on Ten Mile Drive in San Carlos Park, off Old Route 41.Radio-Locator.com/WHEL
/REF> The station broadcasts using

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

technology. On its 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 compress ...

, it carries a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format known as "

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

Fort Myers." The subchannel feeds two

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 tr ...

s, 94.1 in

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

and 103.3 in

Bayshore Bayshore may refer to: Communities Canada: *Bayshore, Ottawa, Ontario United States: *Bayshore, neighborhood in the Upper Eastside of the city of Miami, Florida *Bayshore, Daly City, California *Bayshore City, California, a formerly (1932-1940 ...

History

WALJ-FM and WRGI-FM

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air in . Its original

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 as ...

was WALJ-FM, its

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

was

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and it broadcast on 93.5 MHz. It was a Class A station, only powered at 3,000 watts, a fraction of its current output. The station changed its call letters to WRGI-FM in 1974. It became the

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 ...

to WRGI 1510 AM on

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

, now

dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

. WRGI-FM was known as "G-93.5," airing a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

format. It flipped to

adult contemporary music 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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, sou ...

during the late 1970s. In 1987, the station returned to Top 40 hits when it became "Lazer 93.5". At first, it kept its WRGI call letters but switched to WLAZ as "Lazer 93.5" in 1989. Its Top 40 format lasted for nearly three years.

WNOG-FM and WTLT

The station changed to

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

and returned back to its WRGI call letters on November 19, 1990. It later shifted to an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format. In mid-September 1994, the station dropped the format and WRGI call letters. It became a simulcast of WNOG 1270 AM (now dark) airing a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

format as WNOG-FM. On February 17, 1997, WNOG-FM became WPRW with a

dance radio Dance radio is a type of radio format that focuses on dance music, dance and electronic music. These formats typically feature current and recent hits in the genres, and may often include DJ mix, mixshows featuring songs mixed by Disc jockey, DJs ...

format with the station's moniker name "Power 93.5". This lasted until March 24, 1999, when the station flipped to

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

as "Lite 93.5" with the call letters WTLT. It later shifted to mainstream adult contemporary. In late 2002, WTLT's frequency changed from 93.5 to 93.7 FM. This was coupled with an increase to its power, giving it a larger coverage area. In 2010, WTLT moved its transmitter closer to

, to more effectively cover Lee County, and the northern part of the market.

X Rock

In 2013, the

Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...

shifted its

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format from WJBX to

WRXK-FM WRXK-FM (96.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Bonita Springs, Florida, and broadcasting to the Fort Myers-Naples-Marco Island area of Southwest Florida. It airs a mainstream rock format branded as "96 K-Rock". It carries Miami ...

to make room for the move of

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

to 99.3 FM. On June 19, 2013, WTLT dropped its "Lite 93.7" adult contemporary format and assumed the "X" moniker and active rock format. On June 26, 2013, WTLT changed its call letters to WXNX.

First iteration of "Trump Country" and "Hell Yeah"

On September 16, 2020, the station flipped to

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

as "Trump Country 93.7", with no airstaff. It used promos performed by a

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

impersonator. The ''93X'' Facebook page announced that it would be "back on a new channel soon!" The Trump-branded country music lasted only three months. On December 18, WXNX rebranded as "Hell Yeah 93.7" under new WHEL call letters. The station's programmer claimed the switch was made due to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

campaign officials reaching out to the station. The claim included threats that Biden's new

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

commissioners would revoke the station's license upon his taking office on January 20, 2021, due to alleged

equal time The equal-time rule ( 47 U.S. Code § 315 - Candidates for public office) specifies that American radio and television broadcast stations must provide equivalent access to competing political candidates. This means, for example, that if a statio ...

violations, though this was likely promotional hyperbole, as both the campaign and FCC never commented on the claims. In September and October 2022, the station was silent for several weeks due to

Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian was a devastating tropical cyclone which was the third costliest natural disaster, weather disaster on record worldwide. It was also the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, and ...

. WHEL returned to the air with the "Latino" Spanish-language

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

format normally heard on

WTLQ-FM WTLQ-FM (97.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station located in Punta Rassa, Florida, broadcasting to the Fort Myers area. WTLQ-FM airs a hispanic urban music format branded as "Latino 97.7". On October 5, 2022, after being off the air due to Hurric ...

(97.7), which was still out of service at the time. On October 21, WTLQ-FM returned to the air, allowing WHEL to resume its country format.

Top 40 and second iteration of "Trump Country"

On January 18, 2024, WHEL dropped the country format, moving it to WHEL-HD3 and translator W231DC (94.1 FM). The main signal began stunting with all-

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

music. At 9 a.m. on January 22, WHEL flipped back to contemporary hit radio as "Hot 93.7", with the intention of taking on Top 40 leader 103.9

WXKB WXKB (103.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cape Coral, Florida, and serving the Fort Myers-Naples radio market and Southwest Florida. WXKB is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group and airs a top 40 (CHR) radio format branded as ...

. Hot 93.7 took swipes at WXKB about its commercial break lengths, music choices, and "national" focus in contests. It also created a flanker for sister station

WFFY WFFY (98.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to San Carlos Park, Florida, and broadcasting to the Fort Myers media market. It airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format and is owned by Sun Broadcasting, with studios on Palm Beach ...

against its own rival

WBTT WBTT (105.5 FM) is an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Naples Park, Florida, and serving Lee and Collier counties in Southwest Florida. It is owned by iHeartMedia and its slogan is "Southwest Florida's Party Stat ...

. The first song as "Hot 93.7" was "

Dance the Night "Dance the Night" is a song by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa from the soundtrack to the fantasy comedy film ''Barbie'' (2023). Lipa co-wrote the song with songwriter Caroline Ailin and its producers Andrew Wyatt and Mark Ronson; the Pic ...

" by

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

. On January 20, 2025, at noon, on the day that

was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States and nearly 1 year after flipping to CHR, WHEL switched back to country, returning to the "Trump Country 93.7" branding. The first song on the second iteration of "Trump Country" was "

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

" by

Luke Combs Luke Albert Combs (born March 2, 1990) is an American country music, country singer. He was born in North Carolina and grew up there, performing as a child. After leaving college to pursue a career in music, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, Nas ...

. Station promos and announcements continue to use the same Donald Trump impersonator as the first iteration of the "Trump Country 93.7" format. The station, in its last full monthly as "Hot 97.3" before the format change back to "Trump Country", it had a 1.3 share in the ratings, compared to

's 2.4 share in the same month.

HD Radio

On March 7, 2022, WHEL-HD2 changed its format from

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

music to

Active Rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

. It used the branding "Rock 103.3". On May 14, 2024, WHEL-HD2/W277AP dropped its "Rock 103.3" format. It switched to a simulcast of WFSX-HD2's "

Fort Myers"

format. On July 1, 2024, WHEL dropped the "Hell Yeah 94.1" country format on its HD3 subchannel and the 94.1 translator, switching to "Fox Sports Fort Myers", simulcasting WFSX-HD2.Hell Yeah 94.1 Goes Out With a Whimper
Radioinsight - July 15, 2024

References

External links

Trump Country Radio , Listen Live
Radio ABC Catalog ;Translators * * * * {{coord, 26.505, N, 81.854, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title 1971 establishments in Florida Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1971 HEL Cultural depictions of Donald Trump Donald Trump in popular culture