Branding K-LOVE First air date 1960 | Frequency 94.3 MHz | |
City Glendale Heights, Illinois Broadcast area Chicago Metropolitan Area Slogan "Positive Encouraging K-Love" | ||
WJKL (K-Love) 94.3 FM is a radio station broadcasting a Christian adult contemporary format, licensed to Glendale Heights, Illinois, United States. The station serves the Chicago Metropolitan Area and is owned by the Educational Media Foundation, broadcasting its K-LOVE format.
History
WJKL 94.3 was originally licensed in 1960 as WRMN-FM, simulcasting AM 1410 WRMN. In 1969, WRMN-FM stopped simulcasting AM 1410 and began broadcasting a beautiful music format as "The Beautiful Island". In 1971, the station adopted the call letters WJKL, which was based on the name of the station manager at the time, Richard Jakle. At this point the station began broadcasting blocks of a variety of formats of music, before evolving into a full-time progressive rock station by 1974, which was branded as "The Fox". In 1980, the station dropped all local talent becoming fully automated, and adopting an album-oriented rock format. In 1982, the station began playing big band, jazz and popular music from the 1950s and 1960s, with the branding "JKL 94" "Great Music". In 1983, the program When Radio Was began on this station, with the host Carl Amari. In 1989, WJKL adopted an adult contemporary format and revived the branding of "The Fox". In the mid 1990s, the station began to sell brokered airtime and on March 1, 1999, became a brokered affiliate of One on One Sports (later called Sporting News Radio). On March 1, 2001, Sporting News Radio moved to AM 820, and the station began to sell its airtime to Educational Media Foundation which broadcast its K-LOVE Christian adult contemporary format. In 2007, Elgin Broadcasting Company sold WJKL to Educational Media Foundation for $17 million.
WJKL was originally licensed to Elgin, Illinois, and ran 3,000 watts ERP at 175 feet from a transmitter located in Elgin. In 1984, it increased its tower height to 300 feet and, in 1998, it increased power to 6,000 watts ERP. After purchasing the station in 2007, Educational Media Foundation changed WJKL's city of license from Elgin to Glendale Heights. In 2010, the station's transmitter was moved from Elgin to the Oakbrook Terrace Tower in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, moving to a higher location, while reducing its power to 3,500 watts ERP.