KDKE (102.5 FM, "Duke FM") is a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

radio station located in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

(

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 ...

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

). KDKE is owned by

Midwest Communications Midwest Communications is a Wausau, Wisconsin-based radio broadcasting company. It owns 82 radio stations located primarily within the Midwest United States, in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Illinois and ...

, which also owns

WDSM WDSM (710 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Superior, Wisconsin, serving the Duluth-Superior area of Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. WDSM is owned and operated by Midwest Communications and broadcasts a sport ...

WDUL WDUL (970 AM) is a radio station licensed in Superior, Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Midwest Communications, which owns six stations in Duluth, Minnesota. All the Duluth stations share the same studio location at 11 East Superio ...

, KDAL,

KDAL-FM KDAL-FM (95.7 FM, "My 95.7") is an American radio station in Duluth, Minnesota airing an adult contemporary format. KDAL-FM is owned by Midwest Communications, which also owns KDKE, WDSM, WDUL, KDAL, and KTCO in Duluth. All the Duluth stations ...

and

KTCO KTCO (98.9 FM, "Kat Country 98.9") is a radio station in Duluth, Minnesota, airing a country music format. KTCO is owned by Midwest Communications, which also owns KDKE, WDSM, WDUL, KDAL, and KDAL-FM in Duluth. All the Duluth stations share the ...

in Duluth. All the Duluth stations share the same studio location at 11 East Superior St. Suite 380, downtown Duluth. Most of KDKE's personalities are voice-tracked or syndicated.

History

The station was Top 40/CHR as "102.5 KZIO" (call sign now used by 104.3/94.1) until November 1996 when it switched to

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

as "102.5 The Bear" with the KRBR-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 assigne ...

. The Bear transitioned 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 ...

in 1998, and broadened its playlist by 2002. By 2006, "The Bear" moniker was dropped as the station branded as "102.5 KRBR" and added a significant amount of

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

to its playlist to become a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

station. On March 3, 2008, KRBR-FM changed its call sign to KHQG, and began branding itself as "102.5 The Hog" while remaining with a

format. In March 2009, KHQG shifted from mainstream rock to "

102.5." In the classic rock arena, 102.5 more solidly targeted the market's heritage classic rock station,

KQDS-FM KQDS-FM (94.9 FM, "95 KQDS") is a classic rock music formatted radio station located in Duluth, Minnesota. Established in 1976 as KAOH-FM, the station is owned by Midwest Communications, and follows a format similar to that of the well-known ...

94.9. The previous format had fallen between KQ and its

sister, 94X. On August 30, 2010, KHQG flipped back to Top 40 (CHR) as "102.5 KDWZ", the branding and callsign a nod to

KDWB-FM KDWB-FM (101.3 MHz) is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, licensed to suburban Richfield. KDWB's radio format is Top 40/CHR. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, while its studios ar ...

in Minneapolis. On September 21, 2015 at 10 am, KDWZ flipped to

Classic Country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

as "102.5 Duke FM". It currently airs a mix of classic country music. Many KDWZ staff members, including The Jake and Tanner Morning Show, moved to My 95.7. The KDWZ call sign was previously used with Top 40 stations in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

(was known on-air as "Z93", now

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

formatted

KIOA KIOA (93.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. It is owned by the Des Moines Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications and airs a Classic Hits radio format. The station's studios are located at 1416 Locust Street along w ...

) and

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

(now

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

formatted

KYCK KYCK (97.1 FM, "97 KYCK") is a radio station broadcasting a country format serving Grand Forks, North Dakota that's licensed to Crookston, Minnesota. It first began broadcasting in 1979 under the call sign KDWZ. The station is currently owned ...

) in the 1980s. The station changed its call sign to the current KDKE on December 1, 2016.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 46.789, N, 92.119, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Superior, Wisconsin Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1979 Midwest Communications radio stations 1979 establishments in Wisconsin