WKCQ (98.1 FM) 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 radi ...

licensed to

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, and broadcasting on 98.1

mHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

with an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

of 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s. The station has broadcast a popular

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, ...

format since 1968 (the country format began under the station's original calls of WSAM-FM). Every year since 1992, the station hosts a free concert on Ojibway Island in downtown Saginaw. Under the right conditions it can be heard all the way in

Port Sanilac Port Sanilac is a village in Sanilac Township, Sanilac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 567 at the 2020 census. History This village was originally a lumberjack settlement on the shore of Lake Huron named "Bark Shant ...

. For a period of time, WKCQ's listenership in the

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

area declined when

WFBE WFBE (95.1 MHz "B95") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Flint, Michigan. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a country music format. Its studios are on Taylor Drive in Mundy Township, using a Flint address. In mornin ...

, with which it competes with in

Genesee County, Michigan Genesee County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 406,211, making it the fifth-most populous county in Michigan. The county seat and population center is Flint (birthplace of General Motors) ...

, switched to country, however listenership has rebounded in the Flint area due to the stability of its on-air talent, with Jim Kramer, Kevin Profitt, Greg Cole and Brian Bailey, among others, having been with the station for a decade or more. It is also one of the highest-rated radio stations in the Great Lakes Bay region, where it competes with

WCEN-FM WCEN-FM (94.5 MHz, "The Moose") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. WCEN has been licensed in Hemlock, Michigan since 2001. It first began broadcasting in 1959 and was originally licensed in Mount Pleasant, Michigan (though the ...

. Nearby competition also includes

WITL-FM WITL-FM (100.7 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Lansing, Michigan, and serving Ingham, Eaton and Clinton Counties in Michigan. It first began broadcasting in 1961 (as WMRT-FM) alongside daytime only ...

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Shiawassee County, Michigan Shiawassee County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 68,094. The county seat is Corunna, and the largest city in the county is Owosso. In 2010, the center of populatio ...

Sources

Michiguide.com - WKCQ History

External links

* KCQ-FM Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1968 {{Michigan-radio-station-stub