WIFC

WIFC
Broadcast area
Wausau–Stevens Point
Frequency95.5 MHz
Branding95-5 WIFC
Programming
LanguageEnglish
FormatContemporary hit radio
AffiliationsCompass Media Networks
WAOW (weather reports)
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 29, 1948 (1948-08-29)
Former call signs
  • WLIN-FM (1948–1962)
  • WSAU-FM (1962–1969)
Call sign meaning
Wisconsin Forward Communications (Forward is Wisconsin's state motto)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
74102
ClassC
ERP98,600 watts
HAAT329 meters (1,079 ft)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wifc.com

WIFC (95.5 FM) is a heritage contemporary hit radio station located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated locally by Midwest Communications, previously owned by Journal Communications, Dave Raven (Raven Broadcasting) and originally Forward Communications. WIFC's main competition comes from WHTQ, a top 40-CHR radio station broadcasting to the same area.

Formerly WSAU-FM (a beautiful music station), WIFC has broadcast its current format since August 1969, making it one of the longest-running continuously-broadcasting CHR-top 40 stations in the United States.

History

On May 13, 1947, U.S. Representative Alvin E. O'Konski applied to build an FM station in Merrill, Wisconsin; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a conditional grant on June 26. The conditional authorization proposed operation on 101.7 MHz. A construction permit issued to WLIN in June 1948 specified 100.7 MHz. The FCC granted WLIN-FM its station license on January 15, 1952, authorizing 100.7 MHz with 9.35 kilowatts of effective radiated power.

The FCC assigned the call letters WOSA to the FM station in 1952. By April 1953, it was again identified as WLIN, an O'Konski-owned FM station in Merrill. On December 30, 1955, the FCC approved assignment of the license to Alvin E. O'Konski Enterprises Inc., describing the transaction as a corporate change without a change in control.

A $225,000 agreement to sell WLIN and O'Konski's AM station, WOSA in Wausau, was announced in January 1958, subject to FCC approval. The purchaser, Wisconsin Valley Television Corporation, had completed the acquisition by August, when Broadcasting reported that WLIN would retain its Merrill operation.

In February 1959, the FCC authorized WLIN to change its community from Merrill to Wausau and its frequency from 100.7 to 95.5 MHz. The authorization also increased effective radiated power from 9.35 to 20.5 kilowatts and antenna height above average terrain from 260 ft (79 m) to 1,010 ft (308 m). A construction permit granted on March 22, 1961, authorized a further increase to 34 kilowatts and installation of a new transmitter.

The station's call letters changed from WLIN to WSAU-FM in 1962. By 1964, it was broadcasting in stereo. Wisconsin Valley Television Corporation renamed itself Forward Communications Corporation in 1966.

WSAU-FM adopted the WIFC call letters in 1969. By November, the station had replaced its automated easy listening programming with a Top 40 format under program director Cliff Thompson. Its playlist contained between 60 and 70 records, including some progressive rock, and Dell Weaver served as music director. WIFC retained an overnight simulcast of its AM sister station, with separate programming from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Dave "Raven" Ewaskowitz became manager of WSAU and WIFC in 1971. In November 1980, Forward agreed to sell the two stations for $2.75 million to a group comprising Raven, with a 55 percent interest, and Manson Insurance Inc., with 45 percent. Radio & Records reported the sale to Mid-West Media Inc. in May 1981.

In 1985, Wausau Radio Inc., principally owned by Raven, agreed to sell WSAU and WIFC to WTMJ Inc. for approximately $3.5 million. WTMJ was the broadcasting subsidiary of The Journal Company, publisher of The Milwaukee Journal. Under Journal ownership, WIFC was branded "FM-95" in 1987, with Duff Damos serving as program director and morning host. Damos described a contemporary hit playlist combining rock and urban music with approximately one oldie per hour, and said that WIFC exchanged programming ideas with Journal's WKTI in Milwaukee.

In 1992, the FCC proposed a $6,250 forfeiture against WTMJ over advertisements WIFC had broadcast in 1991 for the Grand Royale Casino at Mole Lake, Wisconsin. The commission found that the advertisements violated its lottery-advertising restrictions and upheld the penalty in 1993.

In April 1996, Midwest Communications announced plans to acquire WSAU and WIFC from Journal Broadcast Group. The $3.5 million transaction identified WRIG Inc., headed by Duke Wright, as the purchaser; the company already owned WRIG in Schofield and WDEZ in Wausau. Assignment of WIFC's license from WTMJ Inc. to WRIG Inc. was consummated on August 8, 1996.

The FCC rescinded the casino-advertising forfeiture in April 1999. Its order cited WTMJ's efforts to comply with the rules, the limited guidance available when the advertisements aired, and the licensee's overall compliance record.

By 2005, WIFC was using a shared ten-bay FM antenna with WDEZ and WHRM on Rib Mountain's 649 ft (198 m) tower, which had been erected in 2000. Its studios were in Midwest Communications' shared facility on Scott Street in Wausau.

By 2021, morning host Dave Kallaway had held his WIFC role for nearly three decades. In an interview that year, he said that he and his wife had organized the station's Disco Cures Cancer fundraising dance for 19 years. As of October 2026, Midwest Communications marketed the station as "95-5 WIFC" with a contemporary hit radio format.

References

  1. ↑ Wisconsin Broadcasting dot com
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WIFC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "Congressmen Get Super-Priority in FM Grants" (PDF). The Billboard. July 5, 1947. p. 13. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Twelve Given Conditional FM Grants" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. June 30, 1947. p. 20. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Five Commercial CP's Issued by FCC" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. June 28, 1948. p. 65. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ "January 15 Decisions" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. January 21, 1952. p. 86. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ "FCC Roundup" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. April 7, 1952. p. 107. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. April 6, 1953. p. 116. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Ownership Changes" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. January 9, 1956. p. 115. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Rep. O'Konski Selling Two Ams; Three Other Purchases Announced" (PDF). Broadcasting–Telecasting. January 13, 1958. p. 10. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "WSAU Shifts After 22 Years" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 4, 1958. p. 76. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  12. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 2, 1959. p. 92. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Actions of March 22" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 3, 1961. p. 101. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Call Letters Assigned" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 16, 1962. p. 94. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ Eisenberg, Norman, ed. (1963). "FM Station Guide". Stereo (1964 ed.). High Fidelity. pp. 55, 95. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  16. ↑ Brown, Les (1977). The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. Times Books. p. 157. ISBN 0-8129-0721-3. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Call Letter Actions" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 18, 1969. p. 74. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  18. ↑ "WIFC-FM in '40' Feature" (PDF). Billboard. November 15, 1969. p. 28-b. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Dave Raven Ewaskowitz". Wisconsin Broadcasting Museum. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 24, 1980. p. 60. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Sales" (PDF). Radio & Records. May 15, 1981. p. 8. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 17, 1985. p. 70. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  23. ↑ Denver, Joel (October 23, 1987). "Winning Mini-Market Music Monsters" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 51–52. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  24. 1 2 3 "Memorandum Opinion and Order" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. April 16, 1999. DA 99-722, 14 FCC Rcd 6447–6448. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Elsewhere" (PDF). The M Street Journal. April 24, 1996. p. 5. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. May 17, 1996. p. 8. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Washington This Week". The M Street Journal. April 21, 1999. p. 7. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  28. ↑ Fybush, Scott (April 21, 2006). "Towers from the North Country: The Big Trip, 2005—Part XI: Wausau, Wisconsin". Fybush.com. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  29. ↑ Poltrock, Heather (July 15, 2021). "Veteran Wausau DJ shares advice, stories, ideas for radio newbies". Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  30. ↑ "WIFC". Midwest Communications. Retrieved October 25, 2026.

44°55′16″N 89°41′28″W / 44.921°N 89.691°W / 44.921; -89.691