WMRN-FM is 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, ...

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 ...

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United S ...

, currently owned by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

Station history

The previous WMRN-FM had served the nearby Marion, Ohio area at 106.9 MHz with a country music format under the on-air monikers “FM-107”, “Country 107”, “Hot Country 107” and "Buckeye Country 107" over the previous years. The country format moved to 94.3 MHz, where the WMRN-FM call letters were moved to on 1/6/2008. The original WMRN-FM (106.9) moved to the

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

market as WRXS. 94.3 FM was previously WDIF, and had served Marion since 1975 with an adult-oriented format. Originally owned by Scantland Communications, who also owned WQEL-FM (92.7

Bucyrus, Ohio Bucyrus ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Crawford County, located in northern Ohio approximately 28 miles (45 km) west of Mansfield and southeast of Toledo. The population was 11,684 at the 2020 census. The c ...

), featured an eclectic format of soft jazz and adult contemporary hits as well as newscasts produced by a 3-person news department. The call letters reflected the station's slogan, "WDIF Makes a Difference." In the late 1970s, the radio trade publication

Radio and Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

named WDIF "Best Small Market Station in America." By 1982, WDIF was named "Best Small Market Station" in the country by Billboard magazine. Scantland would sell WDIF-FM to Burbach Broadcasting in 1994 who owned

WMRN-AM WMRN (1490 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio radio format, format. It is city of license, licensed to Marion, Ohio, ("MRN" stands for Marion Radio News) and is owned by iHe ...

and WMRN-FM 106.9 in

, WBUK-FM (106.3,

Ottawa, Ohio Ottawa is a village and the county seat of Putnam County, Ohio, United States. It is located 51 miles southwest of Toledo, a major port city on the Maumee River. The population was 4,460 at the 2010 census. History The region was long inhabi ...

) and

WPFX-FM WPFX-FM (107.7 Hertz, MHz, "The Wolf") is an American radio station, licensed to Luckey, Ohio. WPFX-FM is owned and operated by Patton Advertizing Enterprises, LLP, with an effective radiated power of 5,200 watts. The station's studios are located ...

(107.7,

North Baltimore, Ohio North Baltimore is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Wood County, Ohio, Wood County, Ohio, United States and is part of the Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,432 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. T ...

). Burbach Broadcasting owned several other radio stations in

Clarksburg, West Virginia Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,039 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg micro ...

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and ...

and

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

. In 1996, Ohio Radio Group purchased

WQEL WQEL (92.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Bucyrus, Ohio, United States, the station serves the Mid-Ohio area. The station is currently owned by the Bucyrus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications u ...

and

WBCO WBCO (1540 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Bucyrus, Ohio. The station currently features a classic country format. WBCO also airs 24 hours per day on FM translator Translation is the communication of the mean ...

in nearby Bucyrus from former owner Scantland Communications becoming a local radio powerhouse owning several stations, including

WFXN-FM WFXN-FM (102.3 FM) – branded as 102.3 The Fox – is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to serve Galion, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., WFXN-FM primarily services the Mid-Ohio counties of Richland, Crawford, and Morrow, an ...

(102.3,

Galion, Ohio Galion is a city in Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 10,453 at the 2020 census. Galion is the second-largest city in Crawford County after Bucyrus. The Crawford County portion of Galion is p ...

WMAN-FM WMAN-FM (98.3 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format as a simulcast of WMAN (1400 AM). Licensed to Fredericktown, Ohio, WMAN-FM serves the Ashland/Mansfield/Mount Vernon Mid-Ohio area. The station is currently owned by iHea ...

(98.3,

Fredericktown, Ohio Fredericktown is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,493 at the 2010 census. History Fredericktown was platted in 1807, and named after Frederick, Maryland, the native home of a first settler. Geography Frederi ...

)and

WXXF WXXF (107.7 FM) – branded ''107.7 The Breeze'' – is a commercial soft adult contemporary radio station licensed to Loudonville, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., WXXF primarily serves the Mid-Ohio counties of Richland, Crawford, Morrow, H ...

(107.7

Loudonville, Ohio Loudonville is a village in Ashland and Holmes counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 2,641 at the 2010 census. Loudonville is nicknamed the "Canoe Capital of Ohio" for the many canoe liveries along the Mohican River. It is also ...

). In 1996,

WYNT WYNT (95.9 FM) is a hot adult contemporary station formerly located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio now located with its studios in Marion, Ohio and its transmitter and city of license moved to Caledonia, Ohio. It broadcasts music from the 1990s through ...

which was based in nearby

Upper Sandusky, Ohio Upper Sandusky is a city and the county seat of Wyandot County, Ohio, Wyandot County, Ohio, United States, along the upper Sandusky River, which flows north to Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. The city is approximately 59 mi (96 km) south of ...

were also added making Ohio Radio Group the largest radio ownership company in Ohio. The company also tried to purchase

, WDIF-FM, WMRN-FM, WBUK-FM and

but the sale was not approved by the Department of Justice because of ownership limits in the concentrated Mid-Ohio market. Burbach then sold the stations to Randy Michaels-led Jacor Communications, based in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Before WMRN-FM's move to 94.3 FM, WDIF had been known as "Mix 94.3."

References

External links

WMRN-FM website
* MRN IHeartMedia radio stations {{Ohio-radio-station-stub