WDUL (970 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

licensed in

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

. The station is owned and operated 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 owns six stations 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 ...

. All the Duluth stations share the same studio location at 11 East Superior St. Suite 380, downtown Duluth. WDUL previously aired programming from the

CBS Sports Radio CBS Sports Radio is a sports radio network that debuted with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. CBS Sports Radio is owned by Paramount Global and distributed by Westwood One. Programmin ...

network. WDUL's main competition when their format was standards was WKLK in

Cloquet, Minnesota Cloquet ( ) is a city in Carlton County, Minnesota, United States, at the junction of Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway 33. Part of the city lies within the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and serves as one of the reservation's three admi ...

, coincidentally a former "Music of Your Life" affiliate station, which now features

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...

from

Dial Global Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

. The station adopted its standards format in September 2008. Prior to that, WDUL aired

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded 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 original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...

programming, as well as ''

The Jim Rome Show ''The Jim Rome Show'' is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific Time. The show is produced in Los Angeles, syndicated by CBS Sports Radio, and can be heard on affilia ...

'' and ''

Loveline ''Loveline'' is a syndicated radio call-in program in North America, offering medical and relationship advice to listeners, often with the assistance of guests, typically actors and musicians. Its host through most of its run was Dr. Drew Pins ...

''. It was also the local home of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

races and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Sunday Night Baseball.

History

The station was first licensed on August 10, 1959, with the callsign WQMN, as a new 1,000-watt daytime-only station transmitting on 1320 kHz, and licensed to Quality Radio, Inc. in Superior, Wisconsin. At noon on May 9, 1964, the station became the first Duluth/Superior radio station to change its callsign when it became WAKX ("WAX"), playing a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or " con ...

format. Lance "Tac" Hammer was the station's first program director. WAKX moved to 970 kHz, formerly the home of WIGL in Superior, on October 26, 1967. The 1320 kHz frequency in the Duluth/Superior market is no longer in use. Owner Lew Latto purchased the facilities of

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

station KPIR in September 1974, and began simulcasting the format of WAKX on both 970 AM and the new 98.9 FM. In 1982, the AM station changed its callsign to KXTP and switched to adult standards, airing the "

Music of Your Life Music of Your Life is an American syndicated music radio format featuring adult standards music. First created by recording executive Al Ham in 1978, the format achieved popularity in the 1980s among AM radio stations in the United States and Ca ...

" syndicated format. WAKX-FM remained unchanged. In 1994, Latto sold KXTP and WAKX to Ken Beuhler and Patty McNulty, the owners of

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 ...

and

KZIO KZIO (104.3 / 94.1 FM) is a radio station located in Duluth, Minnesota that serves as a satellite station to Minnesota Public Radio's AAA station KCMP, with inserts for local weather, underwriting messages, and a local music program that airs on ...

(currently KDKE). The FM station flipped from

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 ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and became

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 ...

. Later that decade, Buehler and McNulty sold their stations to Shockley Communications, which changed KXTP's format to

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 ...

and then

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

. It later changed to

Hot Talk 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. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

, and finally, to Sports. Today, the station is owned by Midwest Communications which also owns 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

KDKE KDKE (102.5 FM, "Duke FM") is a classic country radio station located in Duluth, Minnesota (licensed to Superior, Wisconsin). KDKE is owned by Midwest Communications, which also owns WDSM, WDUL, KDAL, KDAL-FM and KTCO in Duluth. All the Duluth st ...

in Duluth. AM 970 regained the "

" format in September 2008, dropping

and returning the

to the Duluth/Superior airwaves. On March 7, 2014, WGEE changed formats from adult standards to sports, with programming from

. On March 16, 2015, WGEE changed calls to WDUL. On November 4, 2020, WDUL rebranded as "970 The Game" with weekday daytime programming originating from

WRNW WRNW (97.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a sports radio, sports radio station in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin owned and operated by iHeartMedia. WRNW's studios are located with iHeartMedia's other Milwaukee operations in rural-suburban Greenfield, ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. On April 25, 2022, WDUL changed formats from sports to full-fledged top 40/CHR, branded as "Hot 98.1" competing against CHR (Top 40)

KBMX KBMX (107.7 FM, MIX 108) is a top 40 radio station serving Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. It is owned by Townsquare Media. The studios and offices are with its three other sister stations at 14 E. Central Entrance, on the west side ...

/107.7 "Mix 108". The prior sports format was moved to sister

.Its Getting Hot In Duluth
Radioinsight - April 25, 2022 This also returns the CHR format to 970 AM for the first time since WAKX signed off in 1982.

Previous logo

References

External links

Website for Midwest CommunicationsWAKX survey from July 28, 1967
* *
FCC history cards for WDUL (covering WQMN/WAKX, 1958-1979)
{{coord, 46, 43, 28, N, 92, 07, 11, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations in Superior, Wisconsin Radio stations established in 1959 Midwest Communications radio stations