WDGY

For the radio station which held the WDGY callsign from 1926 to 1991, seeKTLK (AM).For the radio station which held the WDGY callsign from 1991 to 2008, seeWREY.

WDGY

Hudson, Wisconsin
Broadcast area	Minneapolis-St. Paul
Frequency	740kHz
Branding	WDGY Radio(main) Wee-Gee(secondary)
Programming
Format	Classic hits/Oldies
Ownership
Owner	WRPX, inc
Sister stations	WREY
History
First air date	December 14,1983(as WRPX)
Former call signs	WAOZ (1982–1983, CP) WRPX (1983–1993) WMIN (1993–2008)
Call signmeaning	Dr.GeorgeYoung (original owner of the original WDGY, nowKTLK)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	6440
Class	D
Power	5,000watts(Daytimer)
Translator(s)	92.1W221BS (St. Paul) 103.7W279DD (Hudson)
Repeater(s)	107.1KTMY-HD2(Coon Rapids)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	wdgyradio

WDGY(740kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensedtoHudson, Wisconsin,and serving theMinneapolis-St. Paulradio market.It is owned by WRPX, inc. and airs aClassic Hits/Oldiesradio format.The station's studios and offices are inLake Elmo, Minnesota,while itstransmitteris off Commerce Drive nearInterstate 94in Hudson.This station is unrelated to the original WDGY, which was a popular Top-40 station in the area during the mid-late 1950s, '60s and '70s.

BecauseAM 740is a Canadianclear channelfrequency, WDGY is adaytime-onlystation. It mustsign-offat sunset to prevent interfering withClass ACFZMinToronto.WDGY can be heard around the clock on twoFMtranslatorstations: 92.1W221BSfromSt. Pauland 103.7W279DDfrom Hudson.The station can also be heard on 107.1KTMY'sHD2 channel in the Twin Cities.

History

The original WDGY

See also:KTLK (AM)

WDGY was founded in 1923 by Dr. George Young, an optometrist who dabbled in radio as a hobby, and was one of the first radio stations in the Twin Cities area. The originalcall signwasKFMT,broadcasting at 1300 kHz. The following year, the station moved to 1140 kHz. After several call letter changes, includingWHATandWGWY,Young settled onWDGY,which was based on his name. The WDGY call letters lasted from 1925 until 1991, first at 1140 kHz, then to its longtime home at 1130 kHz beginning in 1941. Following Young's death in 1945, the station was sold by his estate.

WDGY went through several ownership changes until 1956, when it was purchased byTodd Storz' Storz Broadcasting, anOmaha-based owner of a five-to-seven-station group (the maximum number allowed at the time). Storz quickly changed the format toTop-40,taking advantage of the early rise ofrock and rollmusic. The station was nicknamed "WeeGee," the phonetic pronunciation of the call sign, and its format was near the top of the ratings for several years.

In 1959, WDGY gained a formidable challenger whenKDWBlaunched. The two competitors seesawed back and forth in ratings supremacy for area teen and young adult audiences throughout the 1960s and '70s. The competition, sometimes friendly, sometimes not, resulted in memorable merchandising promotions and concerts.

Generally, WDGY came in second in overall audience ratings to market-dominant, clear-channelWCCO.WDGY seemed to appeal to the 18-35 age demographic while KDWB held a fair share of the teen audience - considered a hot property during this period.

WDGY's longtime Top 40 format came to an end at 3 p.m. on September 2, 1977.Faced with stronger competition on the FM dial, WDGY adopted acountry musicformat, which continued well into the 1980s. In 1990, WDGY would flip to anews/talkformat, which would evolve tosports talkasKFANthe next year. Ironically, the abandoned WDGY call letters were quickly picked up by WDGY's former rival station at630 kHz.

History of 740 AM

The original call sign for the station's construction permit wasWAOZ,but the station was never on the air with those call letters. 740 AM began broadcasting asWRPX,featuring a locally-basedMOR/adult contemporaryformat targeting the Hudson/St. Croix Valleyarea on December 14, 1983.

After a brief shutdown in 1993 due tobusiness failureand the sale of the station, the vacatedWMINcall sign was acquired, which had a long history in the market. WMIN aired a pop musicSpanish-languageformat as "La Nueva Ley" until November 14, 2005. It also airedsports talkat various times as well as leasing time to two groups that eventually acquired their own full-time frequencies: "Straight Talk Radio" (later on 950KTNF) and "Relevant Radio"(later on 1330WLOL).

In 2008, the station becameWDGYafter sister station 630 AM switched toRegional Mexicanmusic, using the call lettersWREY.

The WMIN call sign was used from1936until1972by the predecessor to today's 1400KMNVand from 1972 to 1993 at1010 and 1030;the call sign was also briefly used for a shared-timetelevisionstation onchannel 11that was launched by the original WMIN Radio.

In 2014, the station began broadcasting inHD.

In May 2016, WDGY begansimulcastingon FM translator W279DD 103.7 in Hudson, Wisconsin. In February 2017, WDGY added another FM translator, W221BS 92.1, broadcasting from an antenna atopWells Fargo Placein Downtown St. Paul.

On March 7, 2017, WDGY discontinued broadcasting inHDand began broadcasting inC-QUAMAM stereo. Due to the re-heightened awareness of HD broadcasting on AM surrounding the October 27, 2020 FCC vote to approve voluntaryall-digitalbroadcasting by AM stations, WDGY resumed an HD Radio signal on November 17, 2020.

On October 30, 2021, WDGY once again discontinued broadcasting in HD Radio. Unlike in 2017, AM stereo did not return. However, in February 2022 the station resumed broadcasting in AMHD.

WDGY at one time carried "The True Oldies Channel"programmed byNew York CityDJScott Shannon.It currently programs its oldies format in-house and uses local hosts.

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 6440 (WDGY)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WDGYinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 142091 (W221BS)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• W221BSat FCCdata.org
• Facility details for Facility ID 141819 (W279DD)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• W279DDat FCCdata.org
• Radiotapes Historic Minneapolis/St. Paul airchecks dating back to 1924 including WDGY and other Twin Cities radio stations
• Rick Burnett'sTwin Cities Radio Airchecks.Comfeatures many 1970s' radio airchecks, including the old original WDGY. There are also old photos of the WDGY studios in Bloomington, Minnesota.]
• Oldiesloon, featuring information about former Twin Cities Top-40 stations