Founded by George F. Meyer, former Medford Mayor and retired industrialist, WIGM was the second radio station in Wisconsin to be located in a city with less than 5,000 in population. His dream became a reality when the station went on the air at noon on October 26, 1941.
Meyer never had any doubt as to the success of WIGM in the Medford Area. “Communities in this area can do things that many communities much larger cannot do or do not have the courage to tackle,” Meyer said. “My confidence in the success of WIGM was not based upon the feeling of personal ability, but upon the fact that this community and the fine area around us with its thriving villages and their people have in other respects demonstrated to my satisfaction that this community would be willing and capable to support this new enterprise.”
The radio station broadcast solely on AM 1490 until December 1968, when FM 99.3 was introduced. That same year, the local combination of stations joined with the ABC Radio Network.
In 1968, WIGM-FM began broadcasting with 3,000 watts. In 1990, WIGM-FM was granted permission for a power upgrade license to increase power to 25,000 watts. In 1997 WIGM-FM, became WKEB-FM as WIGM-AM kept the original name and took on new programming.
“Community involvement is very important to our philosophy,” said Brad Dahlvig. “Stations in big markets focus on music and ads. We tend to be much more involved, with programming emphasis on local and other news, high school sports and human interest stories.”
The radio stations are Green Bay Packer, WI Badger, & Milwaukee Brewer network affiliates. In the spring of 2004, WIGM 1490 introduced the “ESPN” format, and also covers Badger Basketball, Brewer Baseball and NFL Football.
K-99 WKEB; the FM station, now features a mix of contemporary and rock classics. News, sports and weather are mixed throughout the day.
WIGM/WKEB radio remains committed to the people of our service areas. Everyday presents a new opportunity to share information and entertainment with our clients and audience; the people we call our “Friends”.