WGNB

Last updated
WGNB
Broadcast area Grand Rapids, Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Muskegon, Michigan
Frequency 89.3 MHz
Programming
Format Religious
Affiliations Moody Radio
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
January 20, 1989
Former call signs
WXYB (CP, 7/24/87-4/15/91)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 18425
Class B
ERP 30,000 watts
HAAT 152 meters (499 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 type:city 42°50′14.00″N85°59′17.00″W / 42.8372222°N 85.9880556°W / 42.8372222; -85.9880556
Links
Public license information
Website www.moodyradio.org/grandrapids/

WGNB (89.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Zeeland, Michigan and serving the Grand Rapids and Muskegon areas. Licensed to the Moody Bible Institute, it is an owned and operated station of the Moody Radio network, airing a mix of Christian talk and teaching and contemporary Christian music. Studios are lcoated on 84th Avenue in Zeeland, while the transmitter is located northeast of the city.

Contents

History

WGNB signed on for the first time on January 20, 1989 as WXYB, a Moody Radio affiliate owned by Echo Broadcasting, a consortium headed by businessmen John Huesby and Wayne Huhta that sought to return Moody Radio programming to West Michigan. For decades, Moody Radio flagship WMBI in Chicago had a large audience in most of West Michigan. Despite its modest 4,000-watt power and status as a daytime-only station, it could be heard in most of the region, as far inland as Grand Rapids. As other stations signed on in the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland corridor, WMBI was crowded out. However, according to Huesby, a former Moody Radio regional representative in West Michigan, WMBI had long been the only Christian station that could be heard in the area, and residents were saying, "We sure would like to hear Moody again." [2] [3]

After a six-year application process, Echo had initially hoped to sign on in February 1988, but it took until December 1988 to apply for the license. In the meantime, in October 1988, Echo bought an existing Christian station in Grand Rapids, WGNR (88.9 FM), from Grand Rapids School of the Bible and began operating it as a Moody affiliate a month later. Once WXYB signed on, WGNR became a semi-satellite of its Zeeland sister, simulcasting WXYB for all but a few hours. Despite operating at 30,000 watts, WXYB provided at least secondary coverage from Ludington to Benton Harbor, and eastward into Grand Rapids. WGNR augmented the station's coverage in Grand Rapids proper, [3] [2] since WXYB had to conform its signal to protect WEHB (now WNHG) in Grand Rapids at nearby 89.7.

Echo sold its stations to Moody Bible Institute, parent of Moody Radio, in 1991 for a nominal price of $1. [4] Moody changed the Zeeland station's callsign to WGNB. [5] The new owners were faced with having to find a new location for WGNR's transmitter, which was still located on the Grand Rapids School of the Bible's campus, but the school believed its campus on Franklin Street no longer met its needs. In any event, the Franklin Street facility was not up to current fire code. [6] The campus was ultimately sold to Grand Rapids Public Schools, who ordered WGNR's transmitter relocated. However, finding a new site proved difficult due to the crowded state of the Grand Rapids radio dial. While Moody eventually found a new site, it discovered that under FCC rules, WGNR would have to significantly drop its power; it already operated at a fairly modest 3,000 watts. Ultimately, Moody decided to sell WGNR. According to station general manager Scott Keegan, the Grand Rapids market was "amply served" by WGNB; he estimated that only five percent of WGNR's audience would be unable to receive the Zeeland station, meaning "it didn't make economic sense to keep putting in the money" for a second signal. Ultimately, Moody found a buyer in the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, who operated NPR member station WBLV in the Muskegon area. [7] Blue Lake changed the Grand Rapids station's calls to WBLU-FM, a full-time satellite of WBLV. [8]

Since then, WGNB has been the sole Moody station in West Michigan. The station has long branded as "Moody Radio Grand Rapids," even though its signal primarily favors the Lake Michigan shoreline from Muskegon to Holland.

References

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42°50′13″N85°59′17″W / 42.837°N 85.988°W / 42.837; -85.988


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  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WGNB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. 1 2 Rouech, Chris (December 2, 1987). "Christian radio station plans February debut". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. 3. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 Butler, Ruth (January 20, 1989). "New Christian radio station kicks off with Moody programs". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. D6. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Brandt, Jon (March 6, 1991). "Radio stations transferred to Chicago Bible school". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. Lakeshore 1. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Dieleman, Dale (June 28, 1991). "Moody alumni hold gathering at Zeeland radio facility". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. Lakeshore 1. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Howell, Pamela; Golder, Ed (March 12, 1991). "GRSBM takes steps to move out of the city". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan. pp. A1, A4 . Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Butler, Ruth (December 17, 1992). "Blue Lake's WBLV buys WGNR to better cover the Grand Rapids area". The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan. p. D11. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ van Eenenaam, Marianne (June 29, 1993). "Blue Lake's WBLU radio signal to be stronger in GR". The Muskegon Chronicle. Muskegon, Michigan. p. North/Shore 2. Retrieved February 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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