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| Broadcast area | Minneapolis-St. Paul |
| Frequency | 740kHz |
| Branding | WDGY Radio (main) Wee-Gee (secondary) |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits/Oldies |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | WRPX, inc |
| WREY | |
| History | |
First air date | December 14, 1983 (1983-12-14) |
Former call signs | WAOZ (1982–1983, CP) WRPX (1983–1993) WMIN (1993–2008) |
Call sign meaning | Dr. George Young (original owner of the original WDGY, nowKTLK) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 6440 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000watts (Daytimer) |
| Translators |
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| Repeater | 107.1 KTMY-HD2 (Coon Rapids) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wdgyradio.com |
WDGY (740kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensed toHudson, Wisconsin, and serving theMinneapolis-St. Paulradio market. It is owned by WRPX, inc. and airs aClassic Hits/Oldiesradio format. The station's studios and offices are inLake Elmo, Minnesota, while itstransmitter is off Commerce Drive nearInterstate 94 in Hudson.[2] This station is unrelated to the original WDGY, which was a popular Top-40 station in the area during the mid-late 1950s, '60s and '70s.
BecauseAM 740 is a Canadianclear channel frequency, WDGY is adaytime-only station. It mustsign-off at sunset to prevent interfering withClass ACFZM inToronto. WDGY can be heard around the clock on twoFMtranslator stations: 92.1W221BS fromSt. Paul and 103.7W279DD (250watts) from Hudson.[3] The station can also be heard on 107.1KTMY'sHD2 channel in the Twin Cities.[4]
WDGY was founded in 1923 by Dr. George Young, an optometrist who dabbled in radio as a hobby, and was one of the first radio stations in the Twin Cities area. The originalcall sign wasKFMT, broadcasting at 1300 kHz. The following year, the station moved to 1140 kHz. After several call letter changes, includingWHAT andWGWY, Young settled onWDGY, which was based on his name. The WDGY call letters lasted from 1925 until 1991, first at 1140 kHz, then to its longtime home at 1130 kHz beginning in 1941. Following Young's death in 1945, the station was sold by his estate.
WDGY went through several ownership changes until 1956, when it was purchased byTodd Storz' Storz Broadcasting, anOmaha-based owner of a five-to-seven-station group (the maximum number allowed at the time). Storz quickly changed the format toTop-40, taking advantage of the early rise ofrock and roll music. The station was nicknamed "WeeGee," the phonetic pronunciation of the call sign, and its format was near the top of the ratings for several years.
In 1959, WDGY gained a formidable challenger whenKDWB launched. The two competitors seesawed back and forth in ratings supremacy for area teen and young adult audiences throughout the 1960s and '70s. The competition, sometimes friendly, sometimes not, resulted in memorable merchandising promotions and concerts.
Generally, WDGY came in second in overall audience ratings to market-dominant, clear-channelWCCO. WDGY seemed to appeal to the 18-35 age demographic while KDWB held a fair share of the teen audience - considered a hot property during this period.
WDGY's longtime Top 40 format came to an end at 3 p.m. on September 2, 1977.[5] Faced with stronger competition on the FM dial, WDGY adopted acountry music format, which continued well into the 1980s. In 1990, WDGY would flip to anews/talk format, which would evolve tosports talk asKFAN the next year. Ironically, the abandoned WDGY call letters were quickly picked up by WDGY's former rival station at630 kHz.
The original call sign for the station's construction permit wasWAOZ, but the station was never on the air with those call letters. 740 AM began broadcasting asWRPX, featuring a locally-basedMOR/adult contemporary format targeting the Hudson/St. Croix Valley area on December 14, 1983.
After a brief shutdown in 1993 due tobusiness failure and the sale of the station, the vacatedWMIN call sign was acquired, which had a long history in the market. WMIN aired a pop musicSpanish-language format as "La Nueva Ley" until November 14, 2005. It also airedsports talk at various times as well as leasing time to two groups that eventually acquired their own full-time frequencies: "Straight Talk Radio" (later on 950KTNF) and "Relevant Radio" (later on 1330WLOL).
In 2008, the station becameWDGY after sister station 630 AM switched toRegional Mexican music, using the call lettersWREY.
The WMIN call sign was used from1936 until1972 by the predecessor to today's 1400KMNV and from 1972 to 1993 at1010 and 1030; the call sign was also briefly used for a shared-timetelevision station onchannel 11 that was launched by the original WMIN Radio.
In 2014, the station began broadcasting inHD.
In May 2016, WDGY begansimulcasting on FM translator W279DD 103.7 in Hudson, Wisconsin. In February 2017, WDGY added another FM translator, W221BS 92.1, broadcasting from an antenna atopWells Fargo Place in Downtown St. Paul.[6]
On March 7, 2017, WDGY discontinued broadcasting inHD and began broadcasting inC-QUAM AM stereo. Due to the re-heightened awareness of HD broadcasting on AM surrounding the October 27, 2020 FCC vote to approve voluntaryall-digital broadcasting by AM stations, WDGY resumed an HD Radio signal on November 17, 2020.
On October 30, 2021, WDGY once again discontinued broadcasting in HD Radio. Unlike in 2017, AM stereo did not return.
At the start of October of 2024, 740 WDGY began signing on early at reduced power with apre-sunrise authorization (PSRA). On the evening of December 2nd, 2024, 740 WDGY began to remain on the air for an additional two hours past the traditional sunset time, at reduced power, thanks to apost-sunset authorization (PSSA). Since October of 2024, 740 WDGY broadcasts usingHD Radio only while operating at reduced power during PSRA and PSSA times. Due to reduced power andskywave interference, the digital HD signal will likely only be reliable in and around the Hudson, WI area. During daytime hours, 740 WDGY discontinues to broadcast in HD, switching to full analog mode.
WDGY at one time carried "The True Oldies Channel" programmed byNew York CityDJScott Shannon. It currently programs its oldies format in-house and uses local hosts.
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44°58′05″N92°40′01″W / 44.96806°N 92.66694°W /44.96806; -92.66694
