WKBM (930 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 ...

broadcasting a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

format. Licensed to

Sandwich, Illinois Sandwich is a city in DeKalb and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 7,421 at the 2010 census and 7,221 at the 2020 census. History The town's history is tied to politician "Long John" Wentworth and his efforts t ...

, United States, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is owned by

Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. R ...

. The station is one of three owned-and-operated Relevant Radio affiliates in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

History

Full service era

The station began broadcasting in May 1986, and originally held the callsign WBYG.Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Retrieved August 31, 2018. The station was originally owned by Larry Nelson.Ghrist, John R. (1996). ''Valley Voices: A Radio History''. Crossroads Communications. p. 78. On April 11, 1988, the station's callsign was changed to WAUR. From the late 1980s until 1990 aired a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

format with

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 news, information, and talk programming.
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Summer 1988 & Spring/Summer 1989. Retrieved August 30, 2018.WAUR AM 930
, ''Radio Chicago.'' Summer 1990. p. 38. Retrieved August 30, 2018. In 1990 the country music was replaced with

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 ...

, with the station airing full-service format with a strong emphasis on local issues.Doyle, Mary K.
On The Air - Larry Nelson Stations Himself At The Forefront In Local Broadcasting
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. January 31, 1993. Retrieved August 30, 2018. It continued to air this format until its sale to the Children's Broadcasting Corporation in 1997.Format Changes & Updates
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 14 No. 1. January 8, 1997. p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2018.

Children's Broadcasting Corporation

In January 1997, the station was purchased by Children's Broadcasting Corporation for $3.9 million, and it became the Chicago affiliate of the "

Radio AAHS Radio AAHS was a radio network managed by the Children's Broadcasting Corporation. Its flagship station was WWTC (1280 AM) in Minneapolis, which broadcast from the former First Federal Bank building at Minnesota State Highway 100 and Excelsior ...

" network, airing children's programming. After Radio AAHS discontinued operations in January 1998, Children's Broadcasting Corporation, began leasing time on its stations until it could find buyers.M Street Bazaar: People Products and Programming
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 14 No. 1. February 25, 1998. p. 10. Retrieved August 31, 2018. In February 1998, WAUR, along with the other nine CBC stations, became an outlet for "

Beat Radio Beat Radio originally was an unlicensed radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota that played dance music. Founded by local radio DJ and programmer, Alan Freed, in 1996, the station served downtown Minneapolis and surrounding neighborhoods and reac ...

", which broadcast electronic dance music 12 hours a day.

Catholic Radio Network

In late 1998, the station was sold to Catholic Radio Network, later known as Catholic Family Radio, and it began airing a Catholic oriented talk format. In late 1999, Catholic Radio Network had entered into an agreement to the station to Saul Acquisition Co. for $4.4 million. Feder, Robert.
New station to offer training for disabled
, ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. October 26, 1999. Retrieved August 31, 2018.Elsewhere
, ''The M Street Journal''. Vol. 16 No. 43. October 27, 1999. p. 8. Retrieved August 31, 2018. The plans were for the station to be operated by Radio Center for People with Disabilities, with Catholic Family Radio continuing to air temporarily during certain time-slots. However, the sale was never consummated, ownership reverted to Catholic Family Radio, and the station was taken off the air temporarily in spring of 2001.

Victory 930

In spring 2001, Catholic Family Radio entered into a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

with Michigan based religious broadcaster Midwest Broadcasting (now known as Christian Broadcasting System), and the station returned to the air broadcasting a religious format. The station was branded "Victory 930". In late 2001, Midwest Broadcasting entered into an agreement to purchase the station for $4 million. However, the Radio Center for People with Disabilities filed a challenge with the Federal Communications Commission to block the sale of the station, on the basis that the purchaser was not a member of a minority, and the sale was never consummated.

Relevant Radio

In 2004, WAUR was sold to Starboard Broadcasting for $3.5 million, and the station began airing its current Catholic format as an affiliate of Relevant Radio.Advance Acquisition, Inc. Ownership
, fcc.gov. Retrieved August 31, 2018. The station changed its call sign to the current WKBM on June 18, 2014.

References

External links

Radio 930 AM
{{Relevant Radio KBM KBM Catholic radio stations Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Illinois Sandwich, Illinois Relevant Radio stations