WKRS (1220 AM) is a

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 ...

broadcasting a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

sports format. Licensed to

Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...

, United States, the station is currently owned by

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC, and features programming from

TUDN Radio TUDN Radio (formerly Univision Deportes Radio) is a U.S. Spanish-language sports radio network operated by Uforia Audio Network, a division of TelevisaUnivision (United States), TelevisaUnivision. It launched on March 15, 2017 on ten AM broadca ...

. Its transmitter is located in Waukegan, while its studios are based in the north end of the Gurnee Mills mall in

Gurnee Gurnee ( ) is a Village (United States), village and suburb in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 30,706 as of the 2020 census. It borders the city of Waukegan, Illinois, Waukegan, and is a popular tourist attraction within ...

History

The station began broadcasting September 25, 1949. It ran 1,000 watts during

daytime Daytime or day as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences Daylight, natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the ...

hours only, and was owned by The News-Sun Broadcasting Company.History Cards for WKRS
fcc.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2019. In 1983, WKRS was sold to Roger E. Kaplan, owner of 102.3

WXLC WXLC (102.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station based in Waukegan, Illinois. The format is currently country music and its owned by Alpha Media. WXLC broadcasts throughout Lake County, Illinois and Kenosha County, Wisconsin. WXLC also pene ...

, for $650,000. In 1987, the station was sold to H&D Radio Limited Partnership, along with WXLC, for $5.5 million. In 1997, it was sold to Spring Broadcasting, and in 1999 it was sold to Belvidere Broadcasting, along with WXLC, for $4.3 million. In 2000, the station was sold to

NextMedia Group NextMedia Group was an out-of-home media company headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. NextMedia owned and operated 33 AM and FM stations, 5,700 outdoor advertising display across several regions and markets, as well as an interactive div ...

, along with WXLC, for $9.4 million. Between 1949 and 2012, WKRS had been a longtime

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

radio station broadcasting local news and information for the Lake County region.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 345-347.WKRS flipping to ESPN Deportes
, Radio & Television Business Report. January 24, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2019. Personalities heard on WKRS included national hosts

Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (; born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television presenter. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of Li ...

Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942) known by his professional name Michael Savage, is an American author, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Nation'', a nationally ...

, Bill O'Reilly, and

Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American radio personality who offers financial advice. He is the founder and CEO of Ramsey Solutions and a co-host of '' The Ramsey Show'', a nationally syndicated radio program. He ...

, along with local hosts Al Salvi, Libby Collins, and Lenny Palmer, The Jack Taylor Program, among others. Known at times as "The Voice Of Lake County" and "The Talk of Lake County", WKRS also broadcast Lake County Fielders

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

games as well as

high school sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing a ...

for the Lake County area. Among its alumni are Chicago TV reporters Anita Padilla,WKRS AM 1220
, ''Radio Chicago''. Fall 1989. p. 19. Retrieved August 30, 2019. Matt Rodewald, and Susan Carlson.

Spanish-language era

In January 2012, it was announced that the station would drop its longtime English-Language Talk format in favor of a Spanish-language sports format, with programming from

ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, ...

, effective February 1, 2012. In 2014, WKRS and NextMedia's 32 other radio stations were sold to Digity, LLC for $85 million. In 2016, Digity, LLC was purchased by

for $264 million. After ESPN Deportes Radio was discontinued on September 8, 2019, the station became an affiliate of TUDN Radio.TUDN Picks Up Some Former ESPN Deportes Radio Affiliates
, ''Radio & Television Business Report''. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.

References

External links

* {{TUDN Radio KRS KRS Alpha Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Illinois Waukegan, Illinois