WELY
WELY/1450 AM and WELY-FM/94.5 are a pair of simulcast radio stations based in the small tourist destination town of Ely, Minnesota, United States. WELY serves the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Surrounding towns and areas of northeastern Minnesota.
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City | Ely, Minnesota, U.S. |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Arrowhead Region |
Branding | "End of the Road Radio" |
Frequency | 1450 kHz |
First air date | October 2, 1954[1] |
Format | Variety |
Power | 770 Watts |
Class | C |
Facility ID | 5386 |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°53′40″N 91°51′50″W |
Call sign meaning | ELY, Minnesota |
Affiliations | Minnesota Twins Radio Network [2] |
Owner | Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (Bois Forte Tribal Council) |
Sister stations | WELY-FM |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | www |
City | Ely, Minnesota, U.S. |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Arrowhead Region |
Branding | "End of the Road Radio" |
Frequency | 94.5 MHz |
First air date | July 25, 1992[3] |
Format | Variety |
ERP | 6,000 watts |
HAAT | 100 meters (330 ft) |
Class | A |
Facility ID | 5385 |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°53′40″N 91°51′50″W |
Call sign meaning | FM sister station to WELY |
Former call signs | KQEK (January 17-June 5, 1992)[4] |
Former frequencies | 92.1 MHz[5] |
Affiliations | Minnesota Twins Radio Network |
Owner | Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (Bois Forte Tribal Council) |
Sister stations | WELY |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | www |
WELY (AM) was founded in 1954. The "front porch" studio is downtown, on E. Chapman Street. Both stations share a transmitter site south of town.
History
WELY (AM)
WELY signed on the air on October 2, 1954. WELY's first owner was Charles B. Pearson, who sold the station to WELY Corporation in 1959. WELY changed hands again in 1963 when WELY Corporation sold the station to North Central Video, which sold the station to Northern Lakes Corporation in 1967. WELY's next owner would come in 1976, when the Northern Lakes Corporation sold it to BJL Broadcasting Corporation.[6] In 1987, WELY suspended operations for a time due to financial difficulty, which was featured as a news story on KSTP-TV.[7]
WELY-FM
WELY-FM signed on the air on July 25, 1992. The original callsign was KQEK, as issued on January 17, 1992, but was changed to WELY-FM on June 5, 1992.
As a pair
WELY was owned by retired CBS broadcaster Charles Kuralt from 1995 until his death on July 4, 1997.[8] In 1999, WELY-AM-FM transferred from the estate of Suzanna Baird Kuralt to her estate's executors, Susan Bowers & Lisa Bowers White, who sold the stations to Alice L. Hill & Janice Nagel Erickson, a Twin Cities transplant.[9][10] In 2005, it was purchased by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.[11]
References
- WELY sign-on history from the Broadcasting Yearbook, 1994 edition, p. B-195. Retrieved from americanradiohistory.com on January 9, 2019.
- Minnesota Twins Radio Network, retrieved January 9, 2019.
- WELY-FM history from the Broadcasting Yearbook, 1994 edition, p. B-195. Retrieved from americanradiohistory.com on January 9, 2019.
- Callsign history for WELY-FM; retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Original construction permit for KQEK (later WELY-FM), granted by the FCC on November 6, 1991; retrieved January 9, 2019.
- WELY's FCC history card, p. 2; retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Recording of KSTP-TV's story on WELY's closure in 1987; retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Transfer of control filing BTC-19970908GJ; retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Transfer of control filing BTC-19991124AAC; retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Transfer of control filing BTC-19970708GG, retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Bob Kelleher (February 20, 2005). "A new life for radio at the end of the road". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
External links
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WELY
- Radio-Locator Information on WELY
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WELY
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WELY
- Radio-Locator information on WELY
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WELY