WLKX-FM (95.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) 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

Forest Lake, Minnesota Forest Lake is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States, located 27 miles northeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul. The population was 20,611 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Histor ...

, and serving the northern suburbs of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

. It is owned by Dennis and Lucas Carpenter, through licensee Carpenter Broadcasting LLC. Their holdings include

WQPM WQPM (1300 AM) is a radio station airing a classic country format. Licensed to Princeton, Minnesota, United States, the station serves the St. Cloud area. The station is currently owned by Dennis and Lucas Carpenter, through licensee Milestone ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

KLCI KLCI (106.1 FM, "Total Country BOB-FM") is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area of Minnesota, United States, that broadcasts a country music format. It is licensed to suburban Elk River, Minnesota and serves the Twin Citie ...

in Elk River, and

KBGY Logo with former format KBGY (107.5 FM "Bob FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Faribault, Minnesota, with a signal that reaches Mankato, Rochester and the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. It simulcasts a classic country radio ...

in Faribault. The station airs a classic country

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, ...

and 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 ha ...

(ERP) of 6,000

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 ...

History

The station previously aired

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as 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 Christianity, Chri ...

along with national and local religious leaders broadcasting a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

format. The station briefly simulcast with its sister station south of the metro area,

. When St. Paul–based KNOF switched to a music-only format in 2007, many syndicated and local religious spoken word programs that had used KNOF to air their broadcasts in the Twin-Cities market moved their programming to WLKX-FM. The WLKX call sign has been with the station for several decades, and in the past, the station has programmed

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 ...

and

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 ...

formats. On October 15, 2013, WLKX changed its format to a hybrid

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 ...

/ Tropical music format, branded as "La Neta". On October 1, 2015, WLKX-FM changed to oldies, branded as "The Big Q", simulcasting

1300 AM Princeton, Minnesota. The station was also heard on the HD-3 of

106.1 in

Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...

, and

KDDG KDDG (105.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "BOB-FM") is a Commercial radio, commercial radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, airing a classic country music format. The station is owned by Lucas Carpenter, through licensee Crystal Media Group, LLC, along w ...

105.5 in Albany. On September 13, 2018, WLKX-FM switched from oldies to classic hits, branded as "Killer Bee Radio". On December 21, 2019, the station began stunting with

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

musicians, and promoted that "big changes" would occur on January 1, 2020. On January 1, 2020, the station returned to its oldies format, known once again as "The Big Q". In July 2021, the station completed an upgrade from 3,000 watts to 6,000 watts. This improved coverage in the north metro. Short-spaced KQCL, also on 95.9 in Faribault completed an upgrade to 6,000 watts at the same time. In certain locations of the Twin Cities, the two stations interfere with each other. On February 13, 2022, WLKX changed its format from oldies to a simulcast of classic country-formatted

106.1 FM Elk River, branded as "TOTAL Country BOB-FM".Bob Expands To Five Minnesota Stations
Radioinsight - February 14, 2022

Previous logos

References and notes

External links

* {{coord, 45.294, N, 93.073, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Minnesota Classic country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1978