WIXK (1590 kHz, "Hmong Radio 1590") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

broadcasting a music, news and talk

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 ...

for the Hmong community of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

. It is

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

New Richmond, Wisconsin New Richmond is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 10,079 as of the 2020 census. History New Richmond was founded in 1857. The first permanent settlement was established by Hiram Foster, who had led a group ...

, and serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The station is owned by Mai Yia Vang, through licensee Hmong Radio Broadcast, LLC. By day, WIXK is powered at 5,000

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 non-directional; at night, to avoid interference with other stations on

1590 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1590 kHz: 1590 AM is a Regional broadcast frequency. Argentina * LRI434 in Dolores, Buenos Aires. * Serodino in Serodino, Santa Fe. * Stentor in Buenos Aires. Colombia * HJIP at Envi ...

, it reduces power to 95 watts. WIXK's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is on Road A near Road G in New Richmond. WIXK programming is also heard on two

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

s: 103.3 W277CW in New Richmond and 106.7 K294AM in West St. Paul (which is fed by an HD Radio digital subchannel of

KEEY-FM KEEY-FM (102.1 MHz, "K102") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul radio market. It broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studio ...

History

On , the station first signed on the air. For much of its early history, it had a full service, middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music, news, sports and community information. It had been a

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

of the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

. In 1968, it added an FM station, WIXK-FM, which today is 107.1

KTMY KTMY (107.1 FM) is an entertainment-oriented talk radio station, serving the Twin Cities as well as portions of West Central Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Hubbard Broadcasting. KTMY's studios and offices are located on Univ ...

. WIXK used to be owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. On August 10, 2012, Hubbard announced that it would sell WIXK to Zoe Communications. The purchase was consummated on December 12, 2012, at a purchase price of $10,000. WIXK was sold by Zoe Communications to Hmong Radio Broadcast, LLC for $125,000 on terms. The sale was consummated on November 19, 2014. In the fall of 2017, the station added an

on 103.3 FM, W277CW, which allows the station to reach a wider audience in eastern communities in the

. This includes North St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Stillwater and Woodbury. In contrast, the station's AM signal covers most of the metro adequately during the day but due to a drop in power, has a very limited coverage area at night. Another FM translator, K294AM at 106.7 MHz in West St. Paul, was also added to simulcast WIXK programming. As of September 9, 2020, WIXK was being simulcast on KQGO-HD3. This change came after Hmong Radio Broadcast, LLC's acquisition of previous

KFAI KFAI (90.3 FM Minneapolis) is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region. KFAI has frequently been honored by lo ...

translator K294AM (106.7 FM). Upon the consummation of KQGO's sale to the Educational Media Foundation in April 2021, WIXK's simulcast on the HD3 sub-channel was dropped;

KEEY KEEY-FM (102.1 MHz, "K102") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul radio market. It broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studi ...

-HD3 is now the primary originating station for the WIXK simulcast/translator relay.

Former logo

References

External links

* * * * * {{Minneapolis-St. Paul Radio IXK Hmong-American culture in Minnesota St. Croix County, Wisconsin Radio stations established in 1960