WPEO-FM (98.3

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) is an FM radio station

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Farmer City, Illinois Farmer City is a city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,828 at the 2020 census. Farmer City is part of Blue Ridge Community Unit School District 18 sharing facilities with nearby Mansfield and Bellflower, Illinoi ...

. It is owned by Smash Hit Media, Inc., and it

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

s a Christian talk and teaching

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

with co-owned

WPEO WPEO (1020 kHz) is a daytime-only AM radio station licensed to Peoria, Illinois. It is owned by WPEO Radio Foundation, Inc., and it simulcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format with co-owned WPEO-FM 98.3 FM in Farmer City, Illinois. ...

1020 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1020 kHz: 1020 AM is a clear-channel U.S. frequency. KDKA Pittsburgh and KVNT Eagle River, Alaska Eagle River is a community within the Municipality of Anchorage situated on the Eagl ...

in Peoria, Illinois. The radio studios and offices are just south of

Illinois Central College Illinois Central College (ICC) is a public community college with its main campus in East Peoria, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System and its district, Illinois Community College District 514, is a area covering most of ...

East Peoria, Illinois East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, located across the Illinois Ri ...

. WPEO-FM has 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 ...

(ERP) of 5,200

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s. The

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is in

Saybrook, Illinois Saybrook is a village in southeast McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 693 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area. Known by locals as the "City of Shade and Water," it ...

, giving it coverage of an area of

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...

between

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

and Bloomington.

History

The station began operations in 1983 as WZRO "5 County Country", then changed to WEZO, and changed to WWHP as "The Whip". It played a variety of music genres, primarily Americana roots, classic country, blues, and bluegrass. The station claimed to be located, "somewhere between Memphis and Chicago." After a change in ownership in early 2014, the station changed formats to classic hits. On November 23, 2015, WWHP became "NewsTalk 98.3" with a local morning and afternoon drive. Former Cities 92.9 morning host Ian Bayne took over the station as program director and general manager and hosted the morning show from 6-9 am, installing national Breitbart editor Mike Flynn from 3-6 pm. Other programming included Laura Ingraham, Dana Loesch, Jerry Doyle, and Lars Larson. On May 30, 2016, WWHP changed their format to classic rock. On January 24, 2018, the station changed its call sign to WEXG and rebranded as "The Edge". On October 6, 2020, WEXG changed its format from classic rock to a simulcast of Christian radio-formatted

1020 AM Peoria, branded as "The Word", and adopted new WPEO-FM call letters the next day. Smash Hit then sold the station to WPEO owners Pinebrook Foundation, Inc. for $159,900.

References

External links

*
Ian Bayne's website
{{Religious Radio Stations in Illinois 1984 establishments in Illinois DeWitt County, Illinois Radio stations established in 1984 PEO-FM PEO-FM