Regional Media-Virden Broadcasting headquartered in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

is private owner of radio stations in the Midwest. The company traces it founding to Randal J. Miller who at the age of 16 in 1971 started a 100 milliwatt transmitter station with a 300-foot range from his parents house in rural

Shelbyville, Illinois Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Illinois, United States, along the Kaskaskia River. As of the 2020 census, the population was at 4,674. HSHS Good Shepherd Hospital, located in town, is the county's only hospital. S ...

. In 1982 he launched 3,000 watt easy listening music station WRVI with a range of 25 miles in

Virden, Illinois Virden is a city in Macoupin and Sangamon counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,425 at the 2010 census, and 3,354 at a 2018 estimate. The Macoupin County portion of Virden is part of the St. Louis, Missouri–Illinois ...

. He sold the station in 1992 and acquired other small market stations in Illinois and sold the then

Taylorville, Illinois Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,506 at the 2020 census, making it the county's largest city. History Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after J ...

based Virden Broadcasting to Fletcher M. Ford in 2013 who moved the headquarters to Davenport. Ford of

Blue Grass, Iowa Blue Grass is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, Muscatine and Scott County, Iowa, Scott counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,666 as of 2020 United States Census, 2020. Most of Blue Grass is part of the Davenport, Iowa, Davenpo ...

at the time was sales manager of Virden's Kewanee radio stations. The Virden name frequently has been clipped to just Regional Media since Ford's acquisition. In December 2021, the company expanded outside of Illinois radio station base with the acquisition of KVVL and KNIM in

Maryville, Missouri Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home to Northwest Missouri State University and Northwes ...

. The company's web reginonalmedia.info

Stations

Illinois

KQCJ KQCJ (93.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Illinois and serving the Quad Cities radio market. Known as "Planet 93.9" the station airs an alternative rock radio format. It is operated by Fletcher M. Ford, of Region ...

FM,

Cambridge, Illinois Cambridge is a village in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,160 at the 2010 census, down from 2,180 in 2000. It is the county seat of Henry County. History Before 1843, the land where Cambridge is currently located was ...

* WKEI AM,

Kewanee, Illinois Kewanee () is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 at the 2020 census, down from 12,944 in 2000. Geography According to the ...

WJRE WJRE is an FM radio station licensed to Galva, Illinois, with studios in Kewanee, Illinois. WJRE operates on a frequency of 102.5 MHz. WJRE plays traditional country format, with a mix of songs from the 1970s through today. WJRE is operated by ...

FM,

Galva, Illinois Galva is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,589 at the 2010 census, down from 2,758 in 2000. History Cousins William L. Wiley (1820-1900) and James Wiley (1817-1886) founded Galva in 1854. The name Galva hono ...

WZOE-FM WZOE-FM (98.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40/ CHR format. Licensed to Princeton, Illinois, United States, the station serves the LaSalle-Peru area. The station is currently owned by Fletcher Ford, through licensee Virden Broadca ...

Princeton, Illinois Princeton is a city in and the county seat of Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,832 at the 2020 census. Princeton is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area. Due to its location where Interstate 80 meets the ...

WZOE (AM) WZOE (1490 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Princeton, Illinois, United States, the station serves the LaSalle-Peru area. The station is currently owned by Fletcher Ford, through licensee Virden ...

* WRVY FM,

Henry, Illinois Henry is a city in Marshall County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,464 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Henry is named after General James D. Henry, and was initially ...

* WZZT FM,

Morrison, Illinois Morrison is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,188 at the 2010 census, down from 4,447 in 2000. It is the county seat of Whiteside County. It is located on the Historic Lincoln Highway, the nation's first t ...

* WSSQ FM,

Sterling, Illinois Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, down from 15,370 in 2010. Formerly nicknamed "Hardware Capital of the World", the ...

WSDR WSDR (1240 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Sterling, Illinois. The station is owned by Fletcher M. Ford and the broadcast license is held by Virden Broadcasting Corp. WSDR broadcasts a news/talk radio format t ...

AM,

* WLMD (FM),

Bushnell, Illinois Bushnell is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,970 at the 2020 census. Geography Bushnell is located at (40.551667, -90.507921). According to the 2010 census, Bushnell has a total area of , of which (or ...

* WJEQ FM,

Macomb, Illinois Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in 2 ...

WKAI WKAI is a 25,000 watt FM radio station on 100.1 MHz in Macomb, Illinois Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about so ...

FM,

WNLF WNLF is a commercial radio station in Macomb, Illinois, broadcasting on 95.9 MHz FM. WNLF airs a country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United S ...

FM,

* WMQZ FM,

Colchester, Illinois Colchester is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,401 at the 2010 census. The city is named after the town of Colchester, England. Geography Colchester is located at (40.425174, -90.792339). According to th ...

Missouri

KVVL KVVL (97.1 FM) is a radio station in Maryville, Missouri, which airs an alternative rock format. It is owned by the Regional Media-Virden Broadcasting. History The station began broadcasting in September 1972, holding the call sign KNIM-FM, sim ...

FM, Maryville *

KNIM KNIM (1580 AM) is radio station licensed to Maryville, Missouri. It airs a country music format History KNIM began broadcasting in 1953 and was owned by the Maryville Radio and Television Corporation.

AM, Maryville

External links

* (as of January 16, 2022 redirects to a subsection the company's illinoisnewsnow.com website)

References

{{reflist Davenport, Iowa Mass media companies of the United States Communications in Iowa Companies based in the Quad Cities