Broadcast area Minneapolis-St. Paul HAAT 315 meters Facility ID 59967 Format Country music Area Minneapolis–Saint Paul Slogan Today's Country | ERP 100,000 watts Class C City of license Saint Paul Owner iHeartMedia Inc Branding K102 | |
First air date October 1, 1967 (as WMIN-FM) Frequency 102.1 FM MHz (also on HD Radio) | ||
KEEY-FM (102.1 FM, "K102") is a country music formatted radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul market of Minnesota. It is the most popular country station in the area, and often comes in just below area powerhouses KQRS-FM and WCCO in overall ratings. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. Its studios are in St. Louis Park.
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KSTP-FM
The 102.1 FM frequency was originally home to KSTP-FM, which launched in 1947. The station was partnered with Hubbard Broadcasting's AM station of the same name. The station shut down in 1952 and the license cancelled, but it was later re-established in 1965 on its present-day 94.5 MHz frequency.
Current license
The owners of WMIN (A.M. 1400 kHz) relaunched the station on October 1, 1967, with the WMIN-FM call sign. They became KEEY ("Key") in 1968, programming Drake-Chenault's automated "Hit Parade '68", an adult version of the format found on KHJ in Los Angeles. Drake's promotional materials indicate it was targeted to the 18-49 age group, for "those people who may not like Top 40 as a steady diet, and those who are not particularly fond of some of the outdated MOR stations".
K102
In 1971, KEEY-FM switched to beautiful music, along with their AM sister station of the same name. The FM station was later co-owned with another AM station, WDGY. They switched to their current country music format in late 1982 as "K102", and quickly became a dominant force in the market.
K102 was named Major Market Station of the Year by the Country Music Association in 2005 while being programmed by Gregg Swedberg. In 2010, K102 was the Academy Of Country Music's Major Market Station of the year. In 2012, The K102 Wake-up Crew Donna and Muss won the CMA for the Major Market Personalities category. The station and its personalities have been nominated many times for CMA and ACM awards.
On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that KEEY's HD2 subchannel will carry a format focusing on new hits from today's and up-and-coming country music stars.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the top 25 markets Country music Radio & Records magazine station of the year award . Other nominees included WUSN Chicago, KYGO-FM Denver, WYCD Detroit, WXTU Philadelphia, and KSON-FM San Diego.
Airstaff
The current lineup (as of 2015) is Chirs Carr And Co. Mornings, Amy James on mid-days, Mike "Muss" Mussmann on afternoon drive, Rachel Ramsey on nights.