KQDX

KQDX
Simulcasting KQDS-FM, Duluth
Broadcast area
Iron Range
Frequency106.3 MHz
Branding95 KQDS
Programming
FormatClassic rock
AffiliationsUnited Stations Radio Networks
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
1971 (1971)
Former call signs
  • WMFG-FM (1971–1983)
  • WMFG (1983–1987)
  • WMFG-FM (1987–2025)
Call sign meaning
similar to KQDS
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
60912
ClassC3
ERP25,000 watts
HAAT77 meters (253 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
47°24′29.8″N 92°57′4.7″W / 47.408278°N 92.951306°W / 47.408278; -92.951306
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.95kqds.com

KQDX (106.3 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Hibbing, Minnesota. The station serves the Hibbing area as a simulcast of KQDS-FM, a classic rock station in Duluth. KQDX is owned by Midwest Communications.

KQDX is part of a Midwest cluster of stations on the Iron Range that also includes KDAH, WMFG, WTBX and WUSZ. All stations share the same studio location at 807 W. 37th Street, Hibbing.

History

Plans for the station were reported in January 1968, when Hibbing Broadcasting Company, headed by Frank Befera, sought authorization for a new FM station in Hibbing operating with 600 watts on 106.3 MHz. The WMFG-FM call letters were assigned in 1968. WMFG-FM began broadcasting in 1971 under the same ownership as WMFG on 1240 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted its first broadcast license on July 13, 1971, authorizing an effective radiated power of 600 watts and an antenna height of 270 feet above average terrain.

By 1980, WMFG-FM was broadcasting in stereo and duplicating half of the AM station's programming. In an allotment proceeding that year, the FCC noted that WMFG-FM operated with 600 watts to avoid prohibited signal-contour overlap with commonly owned WHLB-FM in Virginia. The commission stated that its ownership rules prevented an upgrade to Class C facilities without a waiver.

In 1983, the FM station dropped its suffix and became WMFG, while its AM companion adopted the WGGR call letters. The 1984 Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook listed the FM station as a full-time simulcast of WGGR, whose programming included Top 40 and progressive rock. In 1985, Hibbing Broadcasting proposed transferring control from Befera and his wife, Claire, to their daughter, station general manager Regina R. Stockman.

In June 1987, Radio & Records reported an agreement to sell WGGR and WMFG to DNS Broadcasting Inc., owned by Dennis Rice and members of his family, for $110,000. The report identified Stockman as Hibbing Broadcasting's president and described the stations' format as contemporary hit radio. On August 5, 1987, the AM station regained the WMFG call letters, and the FM station became WMFG-FM again.

In February 1993, Radio & Records reported a $255,000 agreement to sell WMFG and WMFG-FM from DNS Broadcasting to Sounds Unlimited of Red Wing Inc., owned by Alan Quarnstrom and Ross Fleischman. The publication listed the FM station's format as gold. Later that year, the FCC authorized 25,000-watt operation as a Class C3 station. A subsequent application for a 100,000-watt upgrade was dismissed in 1998 at Quarnstrom's request; WMFG-FM was then operating with 25,000 watts.

In July 2000, a $2.15 million agreement was reported for the sale of WMFG, WMFG-FM, and KMFG in Nashwauk from Al Quarnstrom and Dennis Martin to Midwest Radio Network LLC. The buyer, headed by Thomas L. Bookey, already owned WNMT and WTBX in the Hibbing market. WMFG-FM was carrying an oldies format.

By 2004, Midwest Radio Network had become Heartland Communications Group. That year, Heartland agreed to sell its Iron Range group—WMFG, WMFG-FM, WTBX, WNMT, KMFG, and WUSZ—to Midwest Communications. WMFG-FM retained its oldies format at the time of the agreement. Midwest Communications dates completion of the acquisition to June 30, 2004. During a 2005 visit, radio writer Scott Fybush documented the group's studios at 807 West 37th Street in Hibbing, where WMFG-FM shared a tower with WMFG and KMFG.

By January 1, 2017, WMFG-FM had replaced its syndicated classic hits programming with a simulcast of KQDS-FM, the classic rock station on 94.9 MHz in Duluth. The change followed Midwest Communications' acquisition of KQDS-FM from Red Rock Radio as part of a five-station purchase. WMFG-FM carried KQDS-FM's "95 KQDS" programming as Midwest divested its existing Iron Range classic rock station, KMFG.

The FCC approved an application to change WMFG-FM's call sign on February 10, 2025. The KQDX call letters became effective on February 14. The change was intended to align the station's call letters with those of KQDS-FM, which it rebroadcast.

A transmitter malfunction reduced KQDX's effective radiated power to 3,200 watts on September 22, 2025. The FCC subsequently granted special temporary authority for that operation. The station returned to its licensed 25,000 watts on March 18, 2026.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KQDX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "KQDX Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 15, 1968. p. 72. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  4. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 5, 1968. p. 72. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  5. ↑ 1973 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). Broadcasting Publications Inc. 1973. p. B-106. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 26, 1971. p. 59. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 (PDF). 1980. p. C-120. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ Federal Communications Commission (May 6, 1980). "Radio Broadcast Services FM Broadcast Station in Grand Rapids and Hibbing, Minn.; Changes Made in Table of Assignments" (PDF). Federal Register. p. 29839. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 28, 1983. p. 72. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1984 (PDF). Broadcasting Publications Inc. 1984. p. B-137. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 11, 1985. p. 80. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. June 19, 1987. p. 12. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Call Sign Changes" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 21, 1987. p. 12. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 12, 1993. p. 6. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Facilities Changes Granted" (PDF). FMedia!. Vol. 7, no. 10. FM Atlas Publishing. November 1993. p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Broadcasting News-May 1998". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. May 19, 1998. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  17. ↑ B+C Staff (July 10, 2000). "Combos". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Broadcasting News-March 2004". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. March 12, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  19. ↑ BIA Financial Networks (April 5, 2004). "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  20. ↑ "About". Midwest Communications, Inc. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  21. ↑ Fybush, Scott. "Towers from the North Country: The Big Trip, 2005, Part III: Up to International Falls via Eveleth, then down to St. Paul via Hibbing". Fybush.com. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Broadcasting News-January 2017". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. January 1, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  23. ↑ Venta, Lance (January 1, 2017). "Red Rock Sales Lead to Multiple Flips In Northern Minnesota". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  24. ↑ Federal Communications Commission (February 12, 2025). "Actions: Report No. PN-2-250212-01" (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  25. ↑ "FCCInfo results: KQDX(FM)". FCCInfo. Cavell, Mertz & Associates. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  26. ↑ Ellis, Jon (February 10, 2025). "FCC Monitor: Time-Share LPFM's Granted in Madison, Milwaukee". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  27. ↑ Ellis, Jon (November 24, 2025). "FCC Monitor: More Stations Report Reduced Power Operations". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  28. ↑ Ellis, Jon (May 18, 2026). "FCC/CRTC Monitor: Two Minn. Radio Stations Back to Full Power". NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved October 25, 2026.