For the similarly branded "Country 104.3" radio station in nearby Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, see
CJQM.
WMKD (105.5 FM, "Country 105," formerly known as "Big Country 105.5") is a country music formatted radio station serving Pickford, Michigan and the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan & Ontario markets. WMKD's 55,000-watt signal covers most of the eastern Upper Peninsula and far northern lower Michigan.
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM) technology. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is capable of better sound quality than AM broadcasting, the chief competing radio broadcasting technology, so it is used for most music broadcasts. Theoretically wideband AM can offer equally good sound quality, provided the reception conditions are ideal. FM radio stations use the VHF frequencies. The term "FM band" describes the frequency band in a given country which is dedicated to FM broadcasting.
Country music, also known as country and western, and hillbilly music, is a genre of popular music that originated in the southern United States in the early 1920s. It takes its roots from genres such as folk music and blues.
Although a construction permit for 105.5 WADW was granted in 1993, the station did not sign on until 2001. WADW was originally known as "Memories 105.5" and aired a mix of oldies from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, marking the first time an oldies station had been on the air in the Sault Ste. Marie area. The station was soon sold to Starboard Media and was taken silent while Starboard prepared to broadcast its Relevant Radio Catholic religious format on 105.5. WADW broadcast intermittently through the next three years, alternating between periods of silence and automated new age/smooth jazz music. In the summer of 2005, Starboard sold the station to current owners Northern Star Broadcasting, who changed the call-sign to WMKD in November of that year, and briefly turned it into a simulcast of Traverse City modern rock station WJZJ. The station debuted its current country music format a few months later, maintaining a similar playlist & branding as WMKC in St. Ignace/Indian River. Northern Star Broadcasting sold the station to Sovereign Communications in 2010.
Relevant Radio is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. Since it merged with Immaculate Heart Radio in 2017, the network has 62 stations and 63 affiliate stations with an estimated reach of 36 states and 136 million people; though the radio network of EWTN is larger with nearly 400 affiliates with a 45-state reach, that network owns only one shortwave station. The network originates from studios in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with additional studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Madison, Wisconsin, Chicago, Illinois, Austin, Texas, and Newark, New Jersey.
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is most established, many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include talk or news programming covering economic, political or religious topics.
New-age music is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than trance, or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is associated with environmentalism and New Age spirituality.
Syndicated programming at WMKD includes the morning drive program Big D and Bubba , Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones , and The Lia Show , while the station also broadcasts Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races and Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference basketball & football games. Local on-air personalities include DJs Allan Gibbs and Mark SanAngelo, and chief meteorologist Karl Bohnak.
The Big D and Bubba Show is a nationally syndicated radio show airing six days a week on approximately 80 country music FM radio stations.
Bobby Bones is an American on-air radio personality, best known for hosting the nationally syndicated The Bobby Bones Show, originating out of WSIX-FM in Nashville, Tennessee. Bones is also serving as full time mentor on American Idol on ABC, and was the winner of season 27 of Dancing With The Stars with partner Sharna Burgess. He has also written two New York Times best sellers and was a judge of Topgolf's original series Who Will Rock You.
The Lia Show, formerly known as Neon Nights, is a nationally syndicated country music and entertainment radio program hosted by Lia Knight. The program airs nightly from 7 pm to midnight locally across the United States. Based out of Seattle, Washington, The Lia Show is a very artist-driven program with loads of interviews from the top names in the country music industry and many from the film and television industries. The show contributes a measure of its success to its caller hotlines. Putting on caller-intensive shows allowed for it to become more emotional and real.
CHBX-TV is the CTV owned-and-operated television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada that is part of the network's CTV Northern Ontario sub-system. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts an analogue signal on VHF channel 2 from a transmitter near its studios on 6 Line East in Sault Ste. Marie. This station can also be seen on Shaw Cable channel 11.
CHAS-FM is a radio station licensed to and serving Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Rogers Media, the station broadcasts an Adult top 40 format branded as Kiss 100.5.
CJQM-FM is a radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The station is owned and operated by Rogers Communications and broadcasts a country music format. With 100,000 watts power, CJQM's signal is one of the strongest in the Sault Ste. Marie area, and can be heard northward to Montreal River, Ontario and southward to Mackinaw City, Michigan and at times to Gaylord, Michigan.
WCMU-FM is a radio station in the United States, broadcasting at FM 89.5 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The station, owned by Central Michigan University, is a National Public Radio member station, airing a large amount of classical and jazz music along with a variety of other programming. The station call letters WCMU are also used to refer to the station network, CMU Public Radio.
The 46th Parallel Radio is an internet radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. Broadcasting a college radio format, The 46th Parallel is the campus radio station of the city's Lake Superior State University. From 1993-2017, the station broadcast at 90.1 on the FM dial with the call sign WLSO, before transitioning to an online-only format.
WSUE is a radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, broadcasting at 101.3 FM. Currently owned by Sovereign Communications, the station broadcasts an album-oriented rock (AOR) format with the brand name Rock 101. WSUE features a similar brand identity and playlist as Sovereign Communications' other rock stations in the Upper Peninsula, WUPK in Marquette and WIMK in Iron Mountain, and since 2010, is the only FM rock radio station directly serving Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula and Ontario's Algoma District.
WSOO is a radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The station airs a gold-based Soft Adult Contemporary format during daytime hours, featuring music from the 1960s through the 2000s, and features paranormal talk programming in late night timeslots. WSOO has been owned and operated by Sovereign Communications since 2003, and is part of Sovereign's 7-station cluster in the Sault Ste. Marie and Newberry market.
WNMU-FM is a radio station in the United States, broadcasting at FM 90.1 in Marquette, Michigan. The station, owned by Northern Michigan University, is a National Public Radio member station, airing a large amount of classical and jazz music along with a variety of other local programming. It is operated by a combination of full-time staff members and students.
WGFN and WCHY are radio stations in Northern Michigan that air a classic rock format under the branding of "The Bear", as currently owned by Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings, LLC. WGFN is based out of Glen Arbor, Michigan, airing at 98.1 FM to the Traverse City market, while WCHY is based out of Tuscarora Township, Michigan and airs at 95.3 FM. WGFN has been the flagship station of the Bear network of classic rock stations that have aired in Northern Michigan since the early 2000s, which peaked with 4 regional stations from 2002-2009 and 2010-2012. The only other surviving Bear station in the region is WCHY, which airs the same programming and playlist as WGFN, but features differing station identifications and commercial content for its market. Both stations aired the popular syndicated morning radio program The Bob & Tom Show until September 2017, and currently air Detroit Tigers baseball games and Detroit Lions football games. The current lineup includes Omelette and Coates in morning drive, "NASCAR" Steve in mid-days, and Jay Roberts on afternoon drive.
WMKC is a radio station licensed to Indian River, Michigan. It airs a country music format called Big Country 102.9. The station is owned by Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings, LLC.
WIHC is an American radio station licensed to Newberry, Michigan to serve the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The station is owned by West Central Michigan Media Ministries, broadcasting a Christian talk radio format simulcasted from Cadillac, Michigan under the branding "Strong Tower Radio".
WYSS is a radio station broadcasting at 99.5 FM in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Branded as "99.5 Yes FM," the station has had a Top 40 (CHR) format since 1986. The station's slogans are "Sault Sainte Marie's Hit Music Station" and "All the Hits for Sault Sainte Marie." WYSS is currently by owned Sovereign Communications, who acquired it and fellow Sault stations WKNW and WMKD from Northern Star Broadcasting in 2010.
WTHN is a radio station licensed to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan broadcasting on 102.3 FM. WTHN airs a format consisting of Christian contemporary music and Christian talk and teaching as an affiliate of The Promise FM, and is owned by Northern Christian Radio, Inc.
WUPK and WIMK are a pair of radio stations based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The stations broadcast an active rock format branded as 93 Rock and 94 Rock, and are currently owned by Sovereign Communications.
WIDG is a radio station licensed to St. Ignace, Michigan, broadcasting a Catholic religious format. Until October 2008, the station was owned and operated by Northern Star Broadcasting and had aired ESPN Radio under the brand name AM 940 The Fan. The station then went silent for a short period and returned to the air in December 2008, simulcasting originating station WTCK 90.9 FM in Charlevoix and later WTCY 88.3 FM in Greilickville and serving Traverse City.. WIDG was previously owned by Northern Star Broadcasting and now owned by Baraga Broadcasting. The sale was approved by the FCC in October 2008.. WIDG then became of a repeater of WTCK from 2008 until the spring of 2015.
Its main studio is now located in Traverse City...as such the originating station is now WTCY.
WNBY-FM is a classic hits/oldies music formatted radio station licensed to Newberry, Michigan, and serving the Sault Ste. Marie market. The station is owned and operated by Sovereign Communications. The station shares a call sign and ownership history with Newberry AM station WNBY 1450, which broadcasts a classic country format.
WKNW is a sports radio station broadcasting at 1400 kHz on the AM dial serving Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The station is currently the ESPN Radio affiliate for the Sault Ste. Marie market, and is the market's only dedicated sports radio station. According to past editions of the Broadcasting Yearbook, the station went on the air as WKNW in August 1990, after briefly holding the callsigns WBPW and WDHP before launch. The station was popularly known as KNOW AM in the 1990s, which alluded to its then news/talk format, and also served as an antonym to sister station WYSS' Yes FM branding.
This is a list of media in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. For stations licensed to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, see that city's article.
Sovereign Communications, LLC is an American radio broadcasting company which owns 17 radio stations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with offices in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The company is owned and operated by William C. Gleich and Tim Sabean.
Northern Star Broadcasting was a radio broadcasting company which owned various radio statons in Michigan from 1998-2016, with offices in Cheboygan and Traverse City. Northern Star was owned by Reynolds Communications, ran by Del & Mary Reynolds.
