City West Linn, Oregon Branding WE 96-3 | Broadcast area Portland, Oregon Frequency 96.3 MHz | |
Slogan Portland's Real Hip Hop Station! First air date January 18, 1986 (as KWSI at 96.5) | ||
KWEE is a commercial radio station in West Linn, Oregon, broadcasting to the Portland, Oregon, area on 96.3 FM. KWEE airs a Rhythmic CHR format branded as "WE 96-3".
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Warm Springs
The station signed on the air on January 18, 1986 at 96.5 FM as KWSI with an adult contemporary format. In 1991, KWSI changed their call letters to KTWI and simulcast with classic rock-formatted KTWS 98.3 FM Bend as "98.3 & 96.5, The Twins". In 1998, the station changed its call letters to KWEG and aired an adult contemporary format as "The Eagle". In 2000, the station changed its call letters to KWPK and rebranded as "The Peak". In 2001, the station changed its call letters to KRCO-FM and aired a country music format.
On July 24, 2002, the station changed call letters to KWLZ-FM and switched to a rock format, branded as "Lazer 96.5". On December 13, 2004, KWLZ-FM shifted its format to classic rock, still under the "Lazer 96.5" branding.
On August 22, 2008, KWLZ-FM switched to a simulcast of news/talk-formatted KBNW 1340 AM Bend, Oregon, branded as "News Radio Central Oregon".
Move to Portland
On September 8, 2015, KWLZ-FM's 96.5 FM transmitter in Warm Springs went silent, ending its simulcast with KBNW. KWLZ-FM went silent in preparation of its move to 96.3 FM in the Portland radio market.
On September 18, 2015, KWLZ-FM's 96.3 West Linn signal signed on the air with a rock-leaning classic hits format, branded as "96.3 KWLZ". KWLZ-FM's license was granted for its West Linn facilities on September 24.
On August 1, 2016, at 5 p.m., Alpha Media began operating KWLZ-FM under a Local Marketing Agreement with 3 Horizons, and flipped the station's format to Rhythmic CHR, branded as "WE 96-3". The station changed its call sign to KWEE on August 12, 2016. The move gave Portland two Rhythmic CHRs, the other being iHeartMedia's KXJM. Whereas KXJM focuses more on gold-based material, KWEE leans towards a more current-based, hip-hop intensive direction. (KXJM has since shifted to Rhythmic AC).