City Streator, Illinois Branding Q Hit Music 977 & 1033 Frequency 97.7 MHz | Broadcast area Ottawa, Illinois Slogan "All the Hits" Format Top 40/CHR | |
WSTQ (97.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to Streator, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Ottawa, Illinois, area. The station is currently owned by Mendota Broadcasting.
History
It began life as WLAX in the 1970s as a beautiful music station. According to the FCC FM license application page, the station was granted a license renewal in 1979. It was owned by The Streator Broadcasting Corporation along with co-owned WIZZ AM 1250, which is now WSPL.
In 1982, according to the FCC call sign database, the station was granted the call letters WSTQ on January 23, 1984 and made the switch from beautiful music to a satellite feed hot ac format. This lasted until the late 1980s when the station switched to country music.
In 1993, WYYS FM 106.1, also licensed to Streator, Illinois, joined WSTQ and they simulcasted the Country format until the two stations were sold along with co-owned WIZZ AM 1250 to Mendota Broadcasting.
On January 3, 2000, the simulcast with WYYS was split and WSTQ ran announcements that a format change would be coming the next afternoon January fourth. WYYS began simulcasting WIZZ and at 10:00 AM on January 4, 2000, WSTQ changed to top forty the first song played on the new format was Counting Crows' "Hanginaround". It was the areas first true top forty station. There were two Hot Ac stations, WAJK La Salle and WRKX Ottawa, but they didn't play any hard rock or rap but WSTQ was the first station to play rap music in the La Salle/Peru area.
On March 6, 2000, WAIV Spring Valley, Illinois, another station owned by Mendota broadcasting joined WSTQ and the two stations simulcast the top forty format. They are known as Q 97.7 and Q103.3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a call letter change to WIVQ on February 26, 2001. The calls WIVQ had been used before in the area on 100.9 FM prior to 1984, which is now known as 100.9 FM rocks also owned by Mendota Broadcasting.
Mendota Broadcasting owns seven radio stations in the La Salle/Peru, Illinois area. They are WALS 102.1 FM licensed to Oglesby, Illinois and known on air as Walls 102, WGLC 100.1 Mendota, Illinois known on air as "Classic Country 100.1 FM WGLC", Both WALS and WGLC are country music stations programmed separately, WSTQ FM 97.7 Streator/WIVQ FM 103.3 Spring Valley, top-40 simulcast known on air as Q 97.7 & Q 103.3 WBZG FM 100.9 Peru, Classic Rock known on air as 100.9 FM ROCKS, WYYS FM 106.1 Streator Oldies known on air as Classic Hits 106, and WSPL AM 1250 "America's Best Music".