KWUL-FM (101.7 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Elsberry, Missouri, and serving Lincoln County and the Metro West suburbs of St. Louis.[2] It is owned by Louis Eckelkamp, with the license held by East Central Broadcasting. KWUL-FM and sister station KWUL 920 AM and 101.5 FM in St. Louis simulcast a format of Southern-influenced classic rock and Americana music dubbed "Rock 'n Americana."

KWUL-FM is a Class A station with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,100 watts.

History

Since Spring 2018, KWUL-FM has played its "Rock 'n Americana" format. Previous to that, for nearly a year, the format was a variety of Adult Album Alternative rock music (AAA) since returning to the air after being dark for several years. The station was silent after it was repossessed from its former owner Randy Wachter and put into the court-ordered receivership of Dennis Wallace, a Maryland-based TV and radio engineer.

The station was originally KLPW-FM, licensed to Union, Missouri. It went on the air in 1966 as the FM counterpart to KLPW 1220 AM.[3] For its first couple of years was a classical music station broadcasting with 1,000 watts of power. In 1968, it changed to country music, and it aired that format for the next 42 years.

In 2008, the 101.7 FM frequency was relocated from Union in Franklin County, Missouri. It moved over 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast. Its tower was put on a site overlooking the Mississippi River bluffs near Elsberry, where it better serves the St. Louis Metro West area.

In 2010, the station changed its call sign to KXQX, airing adult album alternative rock music (AAA) as "101.7 FMX". Poor health and a difficult financial situation affected Randy Wachter, who had owned the station since 2008. He took KXQX off the air in 2014. It was able to maintain its license by broadcasting once a year until the radio station was forced into receivership in 2016.

The station returned to the air in July 2017 under a court-appointed receiver with the new call sign KWUL-FM, at first returning to its previous AAA rock format. It later started calling itself "K-Wulf 101.7" using the positioner "Rock 'n Americana." It began playing a mix of Americana music and Southern-influenced classic rock.

Effective May 3, 2021, KWUL and two sister stations were sold to Louis Eckelkamp's East Central Broadcasting, LLC. The cost was $2,500 and forgiveness of the outstanding debt. On March 17, 2023, the station changed its call sign to KWUL-FM.

References


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