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'''WKEI''' (1450 [[AM]]) is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Kewanee, Illinois, United States, the station serves portions of northern Illinois to the Quad Cities area. The station is currently owned by Fletcher M. Ford’s Virden Broadcasting Corp.
The station provided the town with its first local radio signal. WKEI is now a news/talk radio station, a Fox News affiliate and home to syndicated talk show hosts Joe
Pags, Hugh Hewitt and Jim Bohannon. WKEI is also the Kewanee affiliate for the [[Chicago Cubs]] MLB baseball team.
The counties in Illinois where the station is heard in a broadcast area on the radio Frequency 1450 kHz are as follows: Henry, Bureau, Knox, and Stark.
Communities in Illinois within the counties where the station is heard are as follows: Kewanee, Galva, Geneseo, Princeton, Toulon, Bradford, Rock Island, Annawan, and Buda.
== Overview ==
The station is currently a Fox news radio affiliate.
The current and most listened to local program is the "WKEI Morning show with Sean Kernan".
Primarily on the weekends WKEI airs FOX Sports Radio Network coverage which offers around-the-clock sports coverage and programming.
Previously WKEI was a [[CBS News Radio]] affiliate and [[ABC radio]] affiliate. The national network affiliations primarily mean the station plays approximately 6 minutes
of the national news at the top of each hour in addition to some nationally broadcast programs from the respective affiliates. National news network programs include: The
Joe Pags Show, The [[Hugh Hewitt]] Show, The Jim Bohannon Show. Previously when a CBS radio affiliate the station would play the The Osgood file with Charles Osgood and CBS
World News Roundup.
== Station slogans ==
Tri-County Radio
The Talk of the Tri-Counties
== Previous seasons of programs ==
"Coaches Corner" is a 2 hour, Saturday morning, local tri-county sports radio show produced from the WKEI studios. The frontline teams covered during the show are the Kewanne Boilermakers and Wethersfield Flying Geese teams. Later a change to the second Kewanee highscool team combining with Anawan is now known as Annawan/Wethersfield Titans. Since it's inception in the 1990's there have been many hosts. Previous hosts include former station general manager Gary Petersen, actor/producer [[Bryan Kreutz]], Tony Sarnow, Bob McKee, and Sean Kernan. Russ Hughes, longtime color analyst for the Kewanne Boilermakers, has also interviewed many of the IHSA highschool head coaches as well for the show.
At different air-dates From the 1990's and some still airing through today WKEI's programs include:
*The [[Michael Medved]] Show
*The [[Dave Ramsey]] Show
*The Jim Bohannon Show
*The [[Lars Larson]] Show
*The Radio Factor hosted by [[Bill O'Reilly]]
*Morning News with Bob McKee
*People to People
*Open Line
*Tuned In
*RFD Today
*Noon Farm Show
*The Trading Post
*Agritalk
*The [[Mark Levin]] Show
*CBS Sports Weekend
*Fighting Illini Sports
*Kewanee Boilermakers Sports
*Red Eye Radio
*Local Sports Now Noon Hour Sports Show
== Program and station history ==
On July 18, 1951, the Federal Communications Commision granted a construction permit to the Kee Broadcasting Company for a 100 watt full-time AM station in Kewanne (Henry
County) Illinois.
WKEI AM 1450 began as a 100-watt AM station in 1952 in Kewanee, Illinois, providing the town with its first local radio signal. WKEI went on the air at 6 a.m. Thursday,
Sept. 11, 1952. A dedication ceremony was broadcast at 1 p.m. The first building for the station was a small concrete block building, which still stands at the base of the
transmitting tower on the corner of South Beach and West Garfield streets, across from Windmont Park in Kewanne, Illinois. Surplus Army equipment was used for the first
broadcasting setup when the station first went on the airwaves. This setup was assembled by co-owner Elwood “Woody” Scandrett and a local “do-it-all” engineer named Ernie
Tomlinson.
The first sports event ever aired on WKEI was a high school football game between the Kewanee Boilermakers and Canton Little Giants at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, 1952.
Phil Miler, the first sports director and sports voice for the station, whose voice was heard on WKEI before it was officially on the air, for a column.
After the station went on the air, Miler was employed part-time doing sports and sales. He gathered and wrote copy for two sportscasts six nights a week, at 6:15 and 10:15
p.m., and the latter seven nights.
For nine seasons — 1952 to 1960 — he was a one-man sports department. During one fall and winter, Miler broadcast 80 high school football and basketball games.
Miler originated live broadcasts from the Illinois cities of Quincy, Champaign, Rochelle, DeKalb, Peoria and Quad Cities.
Daytime power rose to 500 wats in 1963. By mid-1964, WKEI operated daily from 5:30am until 10pm with a Variety/Farm program format.
By 1974, WKEI aired a "middle-of-the-road" music format. An affiliation with the ABC Information Network was also secured the same year.
In September 1983 The Kewanee Broadcasting Company sold WKEI to the Kewanee Radio Corporation while switching affiliations from the ABC Information Network to the ABC
Direction Network. Also in that year, it adopted a "Country Music/News/Talk" Format. It switched to MOR music once again in 1984.
In October 1987 WKEI was sold from Kewanee Radio Corporation to the Miller Broadcast Company Inc. and debuting a MOR music and News/Talk format a few years later in 1990.
In December 1994 WKEI along with sister station WJRE were purchased by Virden Broadcasting Corp. to Randal J. Miller as a 100% owner and president of the copropration.
Under Miller's ownership, upgrades were made to WKEI and WJRE. The format changed, ending it's nostalgia format and beginning a news-talk format, with local information and
talk during the day, sports in the evening, and syndicated talk overnights and weekends.
WKEI ended its long-time affiliation with the ABC Radio Network in September 1997 and began carrying the CBS Radio Network, including the NFL and Notre Dame football and
NCAA Basketball.
The WKEI and sister stations continued to grow, and on March 30, 2003, WGEN (AM) Geneseo, and WHHK (FM) Galva, were purchased and integrated into WKEI-WJRE at the Kewanee
studios.
While a CBS Radio affiliate, WKEI was also the Kewanee,IL affiliate for [[St. Louis Cardinals]] of [[Major League Baseball]], [[NFL]] Football on Westwood one, and The
Illini. Along with local personalities, Kris Wexell and Bob McKee the station was previously owned by Miller Media Group. In October of 2007 WKEI became the first AM radio
station in Illinois to simalcast it's programing on 2 FM translators. 104.3 FM Kewanee and 100.1 FM in Galva IL.
== Locations ==
WKEI was first located at 207 Baker Building, 202 1/2 North Tremont, in Kewanne, IL.
WKEI studios moved in 1961 to the Hotel Kewanee, 125 North Chestnut Street, in Kewanne, IL.
Since 1981 WKEI and WJRE broadcast studios are both located at 133 East Division Street in Kewanee, IL.
== External links ==
* [https://regionalmedia.info/our-team/our-president Virden Broadcasting Fletcher Ford at regional Media]
* [https://www.starcourier.com/article/20120911/news/120919723 Kewanee Star Courier]
* [https://regionaldailynews.com/wkei WKEI official website]
* [http://www.randyradio.com/corp/ Miller Media Group]
[[Category:Radio Stations]]
The station provided the town with its first local radio signal. WKEI is now a news/talk radio station, a Fox News affiliate and home to syndicated talk show hosts Joe
Pags, Hugh Hewitt and Jim Bohannon. WKEI is also the Kewanee affiliate for the [[Chicago Cubs]] MLB baseball team.
The counties in Illinois where the station is heard in a broadcast area on the radio Frequency 1450 kHz are as follows: Henry, Bureau, Knox, and Stark.
Communities in Illinois within the counties where the station is heard are as follows: Kewanee, Galva, Geneseo, Princeton, Toulon, Bradford, Rock Island, Annawan, and Buda.
== Overview ==
The station is currently a Fox news radio affiliate.
The current and most listened to local program is the "WKEI Morning show with Sean Kernan".
Primarily on the weekends WKEI airs FOX Sports Radio Network coverage which offers around-the-clock sports coverage and programming.
Previously WKEI was a [[CBS News Radio]] affiliate and [[ABC radio]] affiliate. The national network affiliations primarily mean the station plays approximately 6 minutes
of the national news at the top of each hour in addition to some nationally broadcast programs from the respective affiliates. National news network programs include: The
Joe Pags Show, The [[Hugh Hewitt]] Show, The Jim Bohannon Show. Previously when a CBS radio affiliate the station would play the The Osgood file with Charles Osgood and CBS
World News Roundup.
== Station slogans ==
Tri-County Radio
The Talk of the Tri-Counties
== Previous seasons of programs ==
"Coaches Corner" is a 2 hour, Saturday morning, local tri-county sports radio show produced from the WKEI studios. The frontline teams covered during the show are the Kewanne Boilermakers and Wethersfield Flying Geese teams. Later a change to the second Kewanee highscool team combining with Anawan is now known as Annawan/Wethersfield Titans. Since it's inception in the 1990's there have been many hosts. Previous hosts include former station general manager Gary Petersen, actor/producer [[Bryan Kreutz]], Tony Sarnow, Bob McKee, and Sean Kernan. Russ Hughes, longtime color analyst for the Kewanne Boilermakers, has also interviewed many of the IHSA highschool head coaches as well for the show.
At different air-dates From the 1990's and some still airing through today WKEI's programs include:
*The [[Michael Medved]] Show
*The [[Dave Ramsey]] Show
*The Jim Bohannon Show
*The [[Lars Larson]] Show
*The Radio Factor hosted by [[Bill O'Reilly]]
*Morning News with Bob McKee
*People to People
*Open Line
*Tuned In
*RFD Today
*Noon Farm Show
*The Trading Post
*Agritalk
*The [[Mark Levin]] Show
*CBS Sports Weekend
*Fighting Illini Sports
*Kewanee Boilermakers Sports
*Red Eye Radio
*Local Sports Now Noon Hour Sports Show
== Program and station history ==
On July 18, 1951, the Federal Communications Commision granted a construction permit to the Kee Broadcasting Company for a 100 watt full-time AM station in Kewanne (Henry
County) Illinois.
WKEI AM 1450 began as a 100-watt AM station in 1952 in Kewanee, Illinois, providing the town with its first local radio signal. WKEI went on the air at 6 a.m. Thursday,
Sept. 11, 1952. A dedication ceremony was broadcast at 1 p.m. The first building for the station was a small concrete block building, which still stands at the base of the
transmitting tower on the corner of South Beach and West Garfield streets, across from Windmont Park in Kewanne, Illinois. Surplus Army equipment was used for the first
broadcasting setup when the station first went on the airwaves. This setup was assembled by co-owner Elwood “Woody” Scandrett and a local “do-it-all” engineer named Ernie
Tomlinson.
The first sports event ever aired on WKEI was a high school football game between the Kewanee Boilermakers and Canton Little Giants at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, 1952.
Phil Miler, the first sports director and sports voice for the station, whose voice was heard on WKEI before it was officially on the air, for a column.
After the station went on the air, Miler was employed part-time doing sports and sales. He gathered and wrote copy for two sportscasts six nights a week, at 6:15 and 10:15
p.m., and the latter seven nights.
For nine seasons — 1952 to 1960 — he was a one-man sports department. During one fall and winter, Miler broadcast 80 high school football and basketball games.
Miler originated live broadcasts from the Illinois cities of Quincy, Champaign, Rochelle, DeKalb, Peoria and Quad Cities.
Daytime power rose to 500 wats in 1963. By mid-1964, WKEI operated daily from 5:30am until 10pm with a Variety/Farm program format.
By 1974, WKEI aired a "middle-of-the-road" music format. An affiliation with the ABC Information Network was also secured the same year.
In September 1983 The Kewanee Broadcasting Company sold WKEI to the Kewanee Radio Corporation while switching affiliations from the ABC Information Network to the ABC
Direction Network. Also in that year, it adopted a "Country Music/News/Talk" Format. It switched to MOR music once again in 1984.
In October 1987 WKEI was sold from Kewanee Radio Corporation to the Miller Broadcast Company Inc. and debuting a MOR music and News/Talk format a few years later in 1990.
In December 1994 WKEI along with sister station WJRE were purchased by Virden Broadcasting Corp. to Randal J. Miller as a 100% owner and president of the copropration.
Under Miller's ownership, upgrades were made to WKEI and WJRE. The format changed, ending it's nostalgia format and beginning a news-talk format, with local information and
talk during the day, sports in the evening, and syndicated talk overnights and weekends.
WKEI ended its long-time affiliation with the ABC Radio Network in September 1997 and began carrying the CBS Radio Network, including the NFL and Notre Dame football and
NCAA Basketball.
The WKEI and sister stations continued to grow, and on March 30, 2003, WGEN (AM) Geneseo, and WHHK (FM) Galva, were purchased and integrated into WKEI-WJRE at the Kewanee
studios.
While a CBS Radio affiliate, WKEI was also the Kewanee,IL affiliate for [[St. Louis Cardinals]] of [[Major League Baseball]], [[NFL]] Football on Westwood one, and The
Illini. Along with local personalities, Kris Wexell and Bob McKee the station was previously owned by Miller Media Group. In October of 2007 WKEI became the first AM radio
station in Illinois to simalcast it's programing on 2 FM translators. 104.3 FM Kewanee and 100.1 FM in Galva IL.
== Locations ==
WKEI was first located at 207 Baker Building, 202 1/2 North Tremont, in Kewanne, IL.
WKEI studios moved in 1961 to the Hotel Kewanee, 125 North Chestnut Street, in Kewanne, IL.
Since 1981 WKEI and WJRE broadcast studios are both located at 133 East Division Street in Kewanee, IL.
== External links ==
* [https://regionalmedia.info/our-team/our-president Virden Broadcasting Fletcher Ford at regional Media]
* [https://www.starcourier.com/article/20120911/news/120919723 Kewanee Star Courier]
* [https://regionaldailynews.com/wkei WKEI official website]
* [http://www.randyradio.com/corp/ Miller Media Group]
[[Category:Radio Stations]]