KEEY
Encyclopedia
KEEY-FM is a country music
formatted radio station
serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul market of Minnesota
. It is the most popular country station in the area, and often comes in just below area powerhouses KQRS-FM and WCCO in overall ratings. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota
.
On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that KEEY's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on new hits from today's and up-and-coming country music stars.
frequency.
(1400 AM) relaunched the station on October 1, 1967, with the WMIN-FM call sign. They became KEEY ("Key") in 1968, programming Drake-Chenault's automated "Hit Parade '68", an adult version of the format found on KHJ
in Los Angeles. Drake's promotional materials indicate it was targeted to the 18-49 age group, for "those people who may not like Top 40 as a steady diet, and those who are not particularly fond of some of the outdated MOR stations".
, along with their AM sister station of the same name. The FM station was later co-owned with another AM station, WDGY
. They switched to their current country music format in late 1982 as "K102", and quickly became a dominant force in the market.
K102 was named Major Market Station of the Year by the Country Music Association in 2005 while being programmed by Gregg Swedberg.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets Country music
Radio & Records magazine
station of the year award . Other nominees included WUSN
Chicago, KYGO-FM Denver, WYCD
Detroit, WXTU
Philadelphia, and KSON-FM
San Diego.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
formatted radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul market of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. It is the most popular country station in the area, and often comes in just below area powerhouses KQRS-FM and WCCO in overall ratings. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota
Shoreview, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there are 25,377 people, Males: 12,303 , Females: 13,074 , 9,965 households, and 7,021 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,315.9 people per square mile . There are 10,127 housing units at an average density of 919.2 per square mile...
.
On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that KEEY's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on new hits from today's and up-and-coming country music stars.
KSTP-FM
The 102.1 FM frequency was originally home to KSTP-FM, which launched in 1947. The station was partnered with Hubbard Broadcasting's AM station of the same name. The station shut down in 1952 and the license cancelled, but it was later re-established in 1965 on its present day 94.5 FMKSTP-FM
KSTP-FM is a radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. It is one of the flagship stations of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other TV and radio stations across the United States, along with other properties...
frequency.
Current license
The owners of WMINKMNV
KMNV is a radio station in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota that airs a Spanish-language music and entertainment format.-History:The station began as WMIN in the summer of 1936, when Saint Paul furniture retailer Edward Hoffman began broadcasting at 1370 kHz...
(1400 AM) relaunched the station on October 1, 1967, with the WMIN-FM call sign. They became KEEY ("Key") in 1968, programming Drake-Chenault's automated "Hit Parade '68", an adult version of the format found on KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
in Los Angeles. Drake's promotional materials indicate it was targeted to the 18-49 age group, for "those people who may not like Top 40 as a steady diet, and those who are not particularly fond of some of the outdated MOR stations".
K102
In 1971, KEEY-FM switched to beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, along with their AM sister station of the same name. The FM station was later co-owned with another AM station, WDGY
KFAN (AM)
* See also KFXN-FMKTCN —branded News/Talk 1130—is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a conservative news/talk format. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and serves the Twin Cities market. KTCN's main studios are in St...
. They switched to their current country music format in late 1982 as "K102", and quickly became a dominant force in the market.
K102 was named Major Market Station of the Year by the Country Music Association in 2005 while being programmed by Gregg Swedberg.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
Radio & Records magazine
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
station of the year award . Other nominees included WUSN
WUSN
WUSN is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, The station broadcasts on 99.5 MHz and is a country radio station owned by CBS Radio. The station focuses on country music from the '90s, along with current product and some classic country from the '70s and '80s.-99.5 WEFM/99-"We" FM:Until 1978,...
Chicago, KYGO-FM Denver, WYCD
WYCD
WYCD is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is the only country music station in the Detroit area. WYCD's offices and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan...
Detroit, WXTU
WXTU
WXTU is a Country music formatted radio station which is broadcast in the Philadelphia area. It is the largest country radio station in the United States based on listener cume . The station plays a variety of country music, including current hits, as well as older hits...
Philadelphia, and KSON-FM
KSON-FM
KSON is a radio station licensed to serve San Diego, California, USA. The station, founded in 1964, is owned by Lincoln Financial Media and the broadcast license is held by Lincoln Financial Media Company of California....
San Diego.
Airstaff
The current lineup (as of Mid 2009) is The K102 Wakup Crew with Donna Valentine and Mike "Muss" Mussman in morning drive, Amy James on mid-days, JD Greene on afternoon drive, Adam West on nights, Levi on overnights. Weekend and fill-in hosts include Justin Cash, Steve Hunter and Bree Wheeler.External links
- Radiotapes.com Featuring an aircheck of KEEY's Hit Parade '71, an aircheck when the station programmed Beautiful Music in 1976 plus airchecks and videos of other Minneapolis/St. Paul radio stations dating back to 1924.