WKOO (710 AM, "100.5 Kix FM") is an American

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 to serve the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Rose Hill, North Carolina Rose Hill is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 1,626 at the 2010 census. Rose Hill claims to be the home of the world's largest frying pan. History A post office called Rose Hill was established in 1872. Th ...

. The station broadcasts a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

music format.

Coverage

WKOO's main signal on 710 AM reaches all of Duplin County as well as the cities of

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...

Burgaw Burgaw is a town in, and the county seat of, Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,872 at the 2010 census. Burgaw is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town most likely derives its nam ...

, Clinton, Elizabethtown, Goldsboro, Greenville, Kinston,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

, Smithfield, and Wilmington. Depending on weather conditions, WKOO can be heard as far away as

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, Fayetteville, Florence (South Carolina), and

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

710 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 710 kHz: 710 AM is a United States clear channel frequency. KIRO Seattle and WOR New York City share Class A status of 710 kHz. In Argentina * LRL202 in Buenos Aires. * LRA17 i ...

is a United States

clear-channel A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...

frequency, on which WOR in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

and

KIRO Kiro was a colonial post in what is now the Central Equatoria province of South Sudan on the west side of the Bahr al Jebel or White Nile river. It was in part of the Lado enclave. In 1900 there were said to be 1,500 troops from the Congo Free ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

share Class A status.

History

The original construction permit for 710 AM in Rose Hill, North Carolina, was applied for on August 13, 1966, by Duplin County Broadcasters, founded by Jeff Barnes Wilson, and was granted on June 9, 1970. The

WEGG WEGG (95.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format that licensed to Bowman, Georgia, United States. The station is owned by Georgia-Carolina Radiocasting Companies under licensee Lake Hartwell Radio, Inc. On May 3 ...

call letters were assigned on December 28, 1970. The call letters were intended to reflect the poultry industry, which was next door to the radio station, as well as the local landmark, The World's Largest Frying Pan. WEGG first began broadcasting in August 1975 with 250 watts daytime-only.

The Wonderful Egg 710

WEGG started out as a

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, ...

station, eventually becoming

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 ...

, and began incorporating

Southern Gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

music as well. WEGG was originally branded as The Wonderful Egg. The station carried programming from ABC News, The North Carolina News Network, and Southern Farm Network. James Kenan High School football and Wake Forest sports were part of the programming as well. Since much of the sporting events, especially the High School Football, occurred after the nightly sign-off. WEGG would broadcast the play-by-play of the game, the next day. The station operates on 710 AM, which is designated a clear channel, in which WOR in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

has priority over the frequency in the night hours. One of the liners on WEGG was "Clear Channel Radio 71", even though the station itself is not classified as a clear channel station. In 1981, WEGG began airing Gospel music and Bible Teaching programs seven days a week in addition to country music. Charlie Robinson hosted a daily afternoon program called ''All Gospel For All People'', which featured

traditional black gospel Traditional Black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular mu ...

and coined the call letters as standing for "Where Everyone Glorifies God". ''Thru The Bible Radio'' with Dr. J. Vernon McGee was part of the programming throughout Wilson's ownership of the station.

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

's program was also a part of the lineup. Many local churches aired their ministries on the station as well. In 1993, Duplin County Broadcasters added FM sister station WBSY 104.7 FM, which allowed WEGG's programming to broadcast 24 hours a day.

Country Bear

In 1995, Jeff Barnes Wilson died, and Duplin County Broadcasters sold WEGG and sister station WBSY to Conner Media Corporation on June 7, 1996. WEGG & WBSY, shortly afterward, became Country Bear, simulcasting

WZBR WZBR (1410 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a jazz music format. Licensed to Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Greater Boston area. The station is owned by Langer Broadcasting Group, LLC, which also o ...

97.7 in Goldsboro.

All Gospel Radio and La Caliente

In 1999, WEGG and WBSY broke away from the simulcast. WEGG flipped to traditional black gospel, and one of WEGG's notable personalities during this time was Patricia "Ann" Pratt. WBSY became a part of the Go Mix! Network, before becoming

regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...

with the call letters WZUP, and relocating to

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...

. Though WBSY was no longer simulcasting WEGG, WEGG continued to use invoice forms, in which the

letterhead A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). It consists of a name, address, logo or trademark, and sometimes a background pattern. Overview Many companies and individuals prefer to create a letterhead template ...

read, "WEGG 710 AM / WBSY 104.7 FM" until 2014. In June 2005, WEGG flipped to a regional Mexican format. The format change resulted in a backlash against the station, and a local minister organized a committee to bring gospel music back to the radio station, which failed. WEGG also received threats of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

potentially getting involved.

Christian formats

In December 2005, WEGG dropped the regional Mexican format, and became a part of the

Fundamental Broadcasting Network The Fundamental Broadcasting Network (FBN) is a network of Conservative Christian radio stations in the United States, based out of the Grace Baptist Church in Newport, North Carolina. Programs heard on FBN include ''Family Altar'' with Lester R ...

, an Independent Fundamental Baptist radio network based in

Newport, North Carolina Newport is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,510 at the 2010 census. History Newport was officially chartered in 1866. Although the crossroads community on the Newport R ...

. During this time, WEGG was granted a construction permit for a power increase to 2,500 watts. After Fundamental Broadcasting Network elected not to renew their lease in July 2006, Conner Media Corporation intended to close WEGG. However, general manager Suzanne Wilson, in an attempt to save the radio station, brought back the traditional black gospel music format, along with the former on-air personality, Ann Faison. WEGG also began carrying IRN/USA Radio Network news. Ultimately, Conner Media Corporation decided to complete the power upgrade, and replaced the original Collins 300G transmitter with a Broadcast Electronics AM2.5E transmitter. As soon as the upgrade was completed, WEGG was put up for sale, and remained on the market until 2014. In October 2007, Media East built

WSTK WSTK (104.5 FM ''97.5 & 104.5 The Bridge'') is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Aurora, North Carolina. The station is owned by Media East, LLC. WSTK offers a Contemporary Christian format as 97.5 & 104.5 The Bridge. H ...

104.5 FM and acquired

WLGT WLGT (97.5 FM, ''97.5 & 104.5 The Bridge'') is an American radio station licensed to Washington, North Carolina, United States. It serves the Greenville-New Bern area. The station is currently owned by Media East LLC. History In 1989, Henry Hint ...

98.3 FM. These two stations, along with WEGG, became known as "The Light", with a

Contemporary Christian Music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

format under LMA, broadcasting from a studio above the Pepsi Store in New Bern, North Carolina. In March 2008, The Light brand was dropped from WSTK and WLGT. WSTK, WLGT, and WEGG were rebranded as "Glory Radio", with all three stations operating separately. WLGT 98.3 FM and WEGG 710 AM offered a Traditional Black Gospel format, while WSTK 104.5 FM offered a Southern Gospel format. In June 2008, WEGG and WSTK were rebranded with the moniker Joy, offering a traditional black gospel music format, simulcasting 1490

WWIL (AM) WWIL (1490 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format, licensed to Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. The station was last owned by James and Maxzine Utley, through licensee CLI Radio, LLC. History From 1964 to 1977, the statio ...

. In October 2008, WWIL terminated their LMA with WEGG and WSTK; WSTK went silent, while WEGG reverted to branding as "Glory Radio" with a traditional black gospel music format, now broadcasting from the WEGG studio in Rose Hill, North Carolina. In May 2009, WSTK resumed broadcasting, simulcasting WEGG. WEGG added new FM translator W240BN at 95.9 FM. W240BN was located on the 710 AM tower and broadcast with 250 watts of power. The station was rebranded as The Gospel Superstation. In January 2011, WEGG was branded Your Christian Radio 710 & 95.9 with a traditional black gospel music format. 104.5 FM WSTK also used the same moniker, but offered a Christian Talk format. Sermons from local ministers were broadcast daily. Local ministers also participated in the "Noon Day Prayer" each day at noon, during which time a local minister would offer a 15 to 20-minute prayer, and afterward listeners could call in and request prayer from the minister or share a testimony. The station also featured church announcements and local obituaries read throughout the morning. From March 2011 to December 2011, WEGG rebroadcast the audio from "The Great Awakening" revival services at The River Church in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, with an immediate repeat overnight. In early 2013, W240BN was relocated, changed frequencies, sold, and eventually became

WHQR WHQR is the NPR, National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Southeastern North Carolina, broadcasting on the FM broadcast band, FM band 91.3 MHz. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington and operated by Friends of Public Radio, Inc ...

's Classical HQR 96.7. A new translator, W263BE at 100.5 FM, was launched in its stead, broadcasting from a taller tower outside of Wallace to provide improved reception in

Duplin County Duplin County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

...

Surge 100

In August 2014, Ken Santarelli, former co-owner of "The Surge of SoCal", a then-defunct Dance Hits formatted internet radio station based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, began talks with Conner Media Corporation about possibly purchasing the radio station. On October 22, 2014, Surge Media, LLC was organized, and an agreement was proposed that Surge Media, LLC would purchase FM translator W263BE, and operate WEGG via

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 ...

for a time, and then Surge Media, LLC would purchase WEGG as well. The station would use the Surge Radio brand. Ken Santarelli and Christian Mergliano have the Surge Radio brand trademarked with the United States Patents and Trademarks Office, and have been using the brand since April 2005. On November 1, 2014, Conner Media Corporation entered into an LMA with Surge Media, LLC. On November 4, 2014, an application was filed with the FCC to transfer ownership of translator W263BE from Conner Media Corporation to Surge Media, LLC. On November 15, 2014, Surge Media, LLC flipped the format rhythmic hot adult contemporary as Surge 100, under guidance by Michael Oaks, owner of internet radio station Energy 98, former Program Director at KNRJ-Energy 92.7 & 101.1 in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

and former Music Director at KVBE-Vibe 94.5 in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Your Christian Radio 710 and 100.5 signed off with "You Can Search" by the Angelic Gospel Singers, and Surge 100 signed on at 2 p.m. with "Hello" by

Martin Solveig Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...

Dragonette Dragonette is the stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara. Originally an electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005, the band consisted of Sorbara with her husband Dan Kurtz as bassist and producer (also in The ...

. WEGG also began streaming online for the first time in its history. Surge 100 immediately began offering mix shows from some of former DJs who were a part of the line up on The Surge of SoCal. These included DJ Mirage and DJ Beatz from the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

area, Garage Sound System from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(formerly on the

Europa Plus Europa Plus () is a Russian commercial radio station. It is owned by the European Media Group and started broadcasting on 30 April 1990. It is mainly formatted with Hot AC and Top 40. Europa Plus began brodcasting in the USSR in 1990. Europa P ...

network in Russia), and Rohit Bangera of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(currently living in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known a ...

, just outside

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

). After the format change, the radio station received many calls from former listeners hoping to get the gospel format back on the air. However, Ken Santarelli, owner and manager of Surge Media, refused, stating that the new format was for the purpose of reaching a larger group of people, better serving the needs of the community, and building a stronger income to help keep the radio station alive. WEGG continued to offer Gospel music and Christian talk programming from local ministries on Sundays. As of January 2015, ''Garage Sound System'' from Moscow on Saturday nights was replaced by

DJ Perry DJ Perry (born June 23, 1970, in Lansing, Michigan, U.S.) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Career A graduate of Michigan State University, as CEO of Collective Development Inc. and former vice-president of Lionheart Film ...

from

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, Arizona, and ''House of Grooves Radio'' with Miss Kay Dee and Audio Jacker. Both of these programs were originally on The Surge of SoCal. Surge also added a mix show from Justin Dohman. ''The Listening Room with Mikeo'' (Michael Oaks), which also runs on Mike's other stations Energy 98 and KXJM-HD2-Too Wild 107.5-HD2, was added Sunday nights. ''The Listening Room'' plays tomorrow's potential Dance Hits and gives listeners the opportunity to rate the music. Gospel Tunes with Robert Osborne (formerly of the now-defunct WTRQ in Warsaw, North Carolina) was added to the Sunday lineup. Osborne also hosted another program on Saturdays, titled ''The Fantastic Voyage'', which blends the regular playlist with more of an

Urban Contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

flavor. After January 2, 2015, DJ Beatz, who was a resident DJ at The Surge of SoCal since 2012, was replaced by ''Seduction Mixshow'' with Mickey Bono of The Beat Thrillerz, another program which was formerly broadcast on The Surge of SoCal. On January 7, 2015, the FCC approved the sale of FM translator W263BE to Surge Media, LLC. On January 13, 2015, Conner Media Corporation closed on the sale of FM translator W263BE 100.5 FM to Surge Media, LLC. Starting the week of January 27, 2015, Surge 100 began adding dance currents during the daytime. In late February 2015, WEGG, once again, began airing content from Southern Farm Network, after 20 years. At the beginning of April 2015, WEGG ended its affiliation with IRN/USA Radio Network, and had no news service for the rest of the month. WEGG began carrying North Carolina News Network once again, on May 11, 2015. In Fall 2015, WEGG began broadcasting high school football, which had been absent from the station since 1996. WEGG covered selected games at Wallace-Rose Hill High School, James Kenan High School, East Duplin High School, Clinton High School, and Harrells Christian Academy. On December 4, 2015; WEGG broadcast the Wallace-Rose Hill High School vs. James Kenan High School playoff championship game, nicknamed the "Duplin County Super Bowl," where Wallace-Rose Hill High School won the championship. In October 2015, WEGG closed the original studio and office on Highway 117 just north of Rose Hill, and opened a new office on Main Street in Downtown Wallace. Shortly after, Robert Osborne discontinued his Saturday afternoon program, and took over weekday afternoons. Amber Rose became the midday personality, and Turtle took evenings. From December 2015 to August 2016, WEGG's programming was simulcast daily 2pm-8am on

WDJS WDJS (1430 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Religious format. Licensed to Mount Olive, North Carolina, United States, the station is currently owned by the Ann Weldon Mayo Trust, through licensee Mount Olive Broadcasting Company, L.L.C. Ext ...

1430 AM in

Mount Olive, North Carolina Mount Olive is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, Duplin and Wayne County, North Carolina, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 4,589 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is included in the Gold ...

. This was to keep WEGG's programming available to the northern portions of Duplin County (where the 100.5 translator signal wasn't as clear) as well as the larger cities of Kinston and Goldsboro during the times when WEGG's 710 AM signal was either off the air during the night hours (due to its daytimer status) or overlapped by WOR prior to sunset. On March 1, 2016, WSTK began once again simulcasting WEGG. WSTK had, for approximately three years, been operating a Traditional Black Gospel format as "The Vine Connection" under LMA, but the format failed to sustain the station and was dropped. Surge Media, LLC then entered into an LMA with Media East, LLC to operate WSTK. The branding was planned to be completely adjusted from "Surge 100" to Surge Radio within the first week, but due to the passing of Ken Santarelli's mother on March 3, necessitating an extended trip out of town, the adjustment of on air imaging was delayed. In late April 2016, Amber Rose quit and was replaced by Heather B. of

CHOM-FM CHOM-FM is an English-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it broadcasts on 97.7 MHz from the Mount Royal candelabra tower, with an effective radiated power of 41,200 watts ( class C1) usi ...

/97.7, who handled middays on WEGG via

voice-tracking Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio stu ...

. Turtle, shortly after, left the evening shift and was replaced by Lisa G, who is also an on-air personality with internet radio station Energy 98. On August 10, 2016, Surge Media, LLC announced that it would be ending its LMA with Media East, LLC and would cease broadcasting on WSTK as of August 31, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. Surge Media, LLC was unable to generate any revenue from that station, and determined that it was not a viable option to continue operating the signal. On August 31, 2016, after playing ''This Is How It Goes'' by Haley, WEGG and WSTK went to dead air. After a few minutes, WEGG ran an EAS test, and resumed operation. WSTK continued broadcasting dead air until the transmitter was shut off sometime later. The next day WEGG relaunched with a Dance Hits format, with music programmed by Ken Santarelli, owner of Surge Media. The focus of WEGG became more about its presence as an internet radio station rather than a community focused radio station, as Duplin County had showed little interest in the community programming. On October 30, 2016, WEGG began simulcasting its programming in the overnight hours on

KCXL KCXL (1140 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Liberty, Missouri, and features a conservative talk format. Owned by Alpine Broadcasting, this station serves the Kansas City metropolitan area with studios and transmitter both located i ...

/1140 AM & 102.9 FM in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. Shortly after, Ken Santarelli left Duplin County to build Surge's presence in Kansas City. On January 10, 2017 at 11:59 p.m., Surge Radio ceased broadcasting on WEGG with the final song, ''So This Is Goodbye'' (Pink Ganter Remix) by William Fitzsimmons. Immediately afterward, WEGG began stunting airing a loop of the ''Data & Picard'' song by Pogo with a message, in Ken Santarelli's voice, saying "This is WEGG and W263BE Rose Hill. If you're looking for Surge Radio, you'll need to hike it on over to surge radio dot org..." followed by a statement that changes between each song stating that a different format was coming on Monday morning at 7:15, leaving no definitive answer about what the new format would be. Some of the statements made references to radio brands that previously existed in Duplin County (i.e. "WTRQ returns to Duplin County airwaves monday morning..." or "There's going to be a lot more Power in Duplin County monday morning...") while others made references to radio brands currently in existence in the nearby Jacksonville/New Bern/Greenville market (i.e. "Duplin County will get to know Bob..." or "Duplin County will be kissed"), and yet others simply stated a specific format was coming (i.e. "There's a whole new country coming to Duplin County..." or "This just in, the news comes to Duplin County..."). Surge Radio continued to broadcast part-time on KCXL in Kansas City until July 2017, and continued streaming online as an internet radio station until November 2020.

100.5 The Dream

On January 16, 2017 at 7:15 a.m., after playing The Black American National Anthem, WEGG became Rhythmic Oldies as 100.5 The Dream, with the first song being ''Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'' by

McFadden & Whitehead McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff re ...

. The Dream was a partnership between Surge Media and Unique Media. Unique Media's Ray Boney a.k.a. Big Ray Da Hit Man (formerly of

WZFX WZFX is a mainstream urban formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Whiteville, North Carolina and located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. WZFX broadcasts under the branding "Foxy 99." WZFX is owned and operated by Beasley Media Group. Its ...

) became the program director. With January 16 being

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...

, WEGG hosted a remote from the

-Duplin County branch's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at the Lois G. Brit Agricultural Center in Kenansville. On January 23, 2017, an application was filed with the FCC to transfer ownership of WEGG from Conner Media Corporation to Surge Media, LLC. On April 1, 2017, Ken Santarelli's Surge Media, LLC acquired WEGG from Conner Media Corporation. Robert Osborne became WEGG's General Manager. Shortly after the acquisition, Unique Media fell into financial difficulties and began failing to support the radio station. WEGG began to severely deplete Surge Media's resources, to the point that Surge had to terminate its time brokerage agreement with KCXL in Kansas City. Surge Media traded the audio processing equipment they installed at KCXL's FM translators in exchange for an additional month and a half of airtime for Surge Radio in Kansas City. The partnership with Unique Media was terminated on June 30, 2017.

The Soul of Duplin County

On July 1, 2017, Ray Boney exited as program director, and, as a result, WEGG dropped The Dream moniker. The Dream was taken off air at 3pm, and WEGG played a loop of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's ''Welcome To My Nightmare'' for the rest of the afternoon. Later in the evening, the playlist was restored, but with no IDs except for a legal ID at the top of the hour. By the following Tuesday, all new imaging was produced, using the callsign, WEGG, as the moniker, with the slogan "The Soul of Duplin County." Jay Starling mornings and Robert Osborne afternoons remained in place, and the format remained mostly the same but with a lot of the Hip Hop elements removed. Robert Osborne took the reins as program director in addition to his duties as general manager.

The Vine Connection

Owner Ken Santarelli accepted an LMA offer from The Vine Connection based in

Washington, North Carolina Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is commonly known as "Original Wa ...

, since the Rhythmic Oldies format was generating less than 20% of the station's operating costs. The Vine Connection had also been operating WSTK 104.5 FM via LMA from June 2013 to March 2016 and again since March 2017, and previously operated

WTOW WTOW (1320 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a Gospel music format. Licensed to Washington, North Carolina, United States, the station was owned by Shabach Media Group. As of June 1, 2018, the station went silent. History 2003 license renewal ...

1320 AM from February 2005 to February 2008 and December 2011 to June 2013. Robert Osborne chose to exit as general manager. On September 1, 2017, WEGG became Urban Contemporary Gospel The Vine Connection with Mae Rodgers as program director, once again simulcasting with WSTK 104.5 FM. WEGG's office in Wallace was closed shortly after. On June 5, 2018, an application was filed to transfer WEGG and W263BE back to Conner Media Corporation for $50,000. Surge Media is selling WEGG back to Conner Media at a loss, having purchased WEGG for $120,000 and W263BE for $80,000. The deal also included a construction permit for a new translator. Ken Santarelli of Surge Media cited financial difficulties, the passing of his father, and plans to move to

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, as reasons for selling it back to Conner Media. Ken Santarelli had not lived in the area since late 2016, and even said in an article published by a Kansas City area health club that living in Duplin County, North Carolina is ''"a fate worse than death."'' On May 30, 2019, the sale from Surge Media, LLC back to Conner Media Corporation was finalized.

100.5 Kix FM

On July 1, 2019, WEGG broke away from its simulcast with WSTK and flipped to a classic country music format, as 100.5 Kix FM with Clay McCauley as program director. Clay McCauley had previously hosted a Sunday program on WEGG called ''The Big Kahuna's Gospel Train'' from 2009 to 2017. On July 1, 2020, the call letters were changed to WKOO, marking the first time the callsign has been changed in the history of the radio station. On May 18, 2022, a petition was filed with the FCC to transfer ownership of WKOO from Conner Media Corporation to Clay McCauley's Mega Media.

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{{Daytime-only radio stations in North Carolina

KOO Koo may refer to: *Kōō (1389–1390), a Japanese era *KOO, a South African food brand *Koo (social network), an Indian microblogging and social networking service *''Koo Koo'', a 1981 Debbie Harry album People *Koo Chen-fu (1917–2005), Taiwane ...

Radio stations established in 1975 1975 establishments in North Carolina Classic country radio stations in the United States