WGRT (102.3 FM) is an

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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

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 ...

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

. It is owned by Port Huron Family Radio and broadcasts with a power of 3,000 watts. WGRT signed on in October 1991. The station airs a satellite-delivered AC format ("Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites") from

Citadel Media Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which w ...

. The station can be heard as far as

Lapeer County Lapeer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 88,619. The county seat is Lapeer. The county was created on September 18, 1822, and was fully organized on February 2, 1835. The name ...

and in parts of northern Macomb and southern Sanilac counties. The station is also heard as far east as Strathroy, Ontario; however, reception in the Canadian portion of WGRT's listening area, as well as areas closer to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, may be compromised, following the approval by the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

to upgrade the broadcast power of

CHST-FM CHST-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.3 FM in London, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand and format ''Jack 102.3''. CHST broadcasts from the CFPL-TV tower in Southwest London. Due to CHST's low ERP relative to some Lo ...

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

( east of Port Huron), increasing its maximum ERP from 12,100 to 100,000 watts; and the sign-on of

CINA-FM CINA-FM (102.3 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a mixture of English-language and ethnic/multilingual music and programming in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The station broadcasts with an antenna aimed toward the northwest and southeast, to pr ...

in Windsor in 2012.Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-490
CHST-FM London – Technical change, ''CRTC'', September 12, 2012 Like WGRT, CHST-FM and CINA-FM both also broadcast on 102.3 FM.

History

The groundwork for WGRT can be traced back to 1983, when the FCC first "dropped in" an FM license to Port Huron that year. As the local area prospered, it became evident that St. Clair County and the surrounding area could support another local radio station in addition to the five already on the air serving the local community. Port Huron Family Radio, headed by local pastor Marty Doorn, acquired the license after a lengthy set of competitive hearings from Hanson Communications, licensee of AM competitor WPHM. Hanson Communications ultimately did not prevail and went on to acquire

WBTI WBTI is a Top 40 radio station licensed to Lexington, Michigan at 96.9 MHz on the FM dial, with an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts. WBTI covers Sanilac County, Michigan and Lambton County, Ontario as well as portions of Lapeer and ...

in Lexington. The new WGRT 102.3 FM was finally granted permission by the FCC to go on the air in 1991. For a Class A station, WGRT had an unusually powerful signal, reaching more than 40 miles in each direction, and into the Detroit Metropolitan Area's fringes. WGRT went on the air using

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

/ SMN's "Starstation" adult contemporary format (now called

ABC AC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

), originating out of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

with DJ's Don Sainte-Johnn, Richard Steele, Sonny Taylor, etc. (later

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

), thus eliminating the expense for a full-time local contingency of on-air personalities, though the station employs a full-time news director actively involved in the community. Following the sale of the five competing stations in Port Huron (

WSAQ WSAQ (107.1 FM) is a country music radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with an effective radiated power of 6,000 watts. WSAQ covers St. Clair County, Michigan and Lambton County, Ontario as well as portions of Macomb, Lapeer, and Sa ...

WHLS WHLS (1450 AM) is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with a power output of 1,000 watts, covering much of St. Clair County, Michigan. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Avenu ...

WHLX WHLX (1590 AM) is an Americana radio station licensed to Marine City, Michigan, with a power output of 1,000 watts day, 102 watts night. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Avenue in Downtown Port Huron. I ...

WPHM WPHM (1380 AM) is a news/talk/sports radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with a power output of 5,000 watts, covering much of The Thumb area of Michigan. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Avenue ...

) by the end of the 20th Century, WGRT earned the distinction of being St. Clair County's sole locally owned and operated commercial radio station. (The other locally owned stations in the market -

WNFA WNFA (88.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Christian radio, Christian teaching/Worship music, worship radio station in Port Huron, Michigan, United States, branded as "Bluewater Christian Hit Radio". WNFA broadcasts with 1,300 watts. WNFA formerly feat ...

WNFR WNFR, broadcasting at 90.7 FM, is an Adult Contemporary Christian music and talk radio station licensed to Sandusky, Michigan. WNFR has a studio located in Port Huron along with sister station WNFA WNFA (88.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Christian ...

WRSX Michigan Radio is a network of five FM public radio stations operated by the University of Michigan through its broadcasting arm, Michigan Public Media. The network is a founding member of National Public Radio and an affiliate of Public Radio ...

, and

WORW WORW (91.9 FM, "The Wave") is a high school radio station located in Port Huron Northern High School broadcasting a CHR/Top 40 format. Licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, it first began broadcasting on September 30, 1981. In fall of 2005, Faculty ...

- are non-commercial and feature either religious or student programming.)

Sources

Michiguide.com - WGRT HistoryAbout Us - WGRT website

References

External links

* {{coord, 43, 04, 08, N, 82, 28, 48, W, region:US-MI_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title GRT Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Port Huron, Michigan St. Clair County, Michigan Radio stations established in 1991