WELY

WELY-FM
Ely, Minnesota, U.S.;
Broadcast area	Boundary Waters Canoe Area; Arrowhead Region
Frequency	94.5 MHz
Branding	"End of the Road Radio"
Programming
Format	Variety
Affiliations	Minnesota Twins Radio Network
Ownership
Owner	Bois Forte Band of Chippewa; (Bois Forte Tribal Council);
Sister stations	WELY
History
First air date	July 25, 1992
Former call signs	KQEK (January 17-June 5, 1992)
Former frequencies	92.1 MHz
Call sign meaning	FM sister station to WELY
Technical information
Facility ID	5385
Class	A
ERP	6,000 watts
HAAT	100 meters (330 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	47°53′40″N 91°51′50″W / 47.89444°N 91.86389°W
Links
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wely.com

WELY
Ely, Minnesota, U.S.;
Broadcast area	Boundary Waters Canoe Area; Arrowhead Region
Frequency	1450 kHz
Branding	"End of the Road Radio"
Programming
Format	Variety
Affiliations	Minnesota Twins Radio Network
Ownership
Owner	Bois Forte Band of Chippewa; (Bois Forte Tribal Council);
Sister stations	WELY-FM
History
First air date	October 2, 1954
Call sign meaning	ELY, Minnesota
Technical information
Facility ID	5386
Class	C
Power	770 Watts
Transmitter coordinates	47°53′40″N 91°51′50″W / 47.89444°N 91.86389°W
Links
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wely.com

WELY/1450 AM and WELY-FM/94.5 are a pair of simulcast radio stations based in the small tourist destination town of Ely, Minnesota, United States. WELY serves the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Surrounding towns and areas of northeastern Minnesota.

WELY (AM) was founded in 1954. The "front porch" studio is downtown, on E. Chapman Street. Both stations share a transmitter site south of town.

History

WELY (AM)

WELY signed on the air on October 2, 1954. WELY's first owner was Charles B. Pearson, who sold the station to WELY Corporation in 1959. WELY changed hands again in 1963 when WELY Corporation sold the station to North Central Video, which sold the station to Northern Lakes Corporation in 1967. WELY's next owner would come in 1976, when the Northern Lakes Corporation sold it to BJL Broadcasting Corporation.^[6] In 1987, WELY suspended operations for a time due to financial difficulty, which was featured as a news story on KSTP-TV.^[7]

WELY-FM

WELY-FM signed on the air on July 25, 1992. The original callsign was KQEK, as issued on January 17, 1992, but was changed to WELY-FM on June 5, 1992.

As a pair

WELY was owned by retired CBS broadcaster Charles Kuralt from 1995 until his death on July 4, 1997.^[8] In 1999, WELY-AM-FM transferred from the estate of Suzanna Baird Kuralt to her estate's executors, Susan Bowers & Lisa Bowers White, who sold the stations to Alice L. Hill & Janice Nagel Erickson, a Twin Cities transplant.^[9]^[10] In 2005, it was purchased by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.^[11]

References

External links

Official website
Facility details for Facility ID WELY ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
{{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
Facility details for Facility ID WELY ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
{{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

This article about a radio station in Minnesota is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Minnesota Twins Radio Network, retrieved January 9, 2019.

[2] WELY sign-on history from the Broadcasting Yearbook, 1994 edition, p. B-195. Retrieved from americanradiohistory.com on January 9, 2019.

[3] WELY-FM history from the Broadcasting Yearbook, 1994 edition, p. B-195. Retrieved from americanradiohistory.com on January 9, 2019.

[4] Callsign history for WELY-FM; retrieved January 9, 2019.

[5] Original construction permit for KQEK (later WELY-FM), granted by the FCC on November 6, 1991; retrieved January 9, 2019.

[6] WELY's FCC history card, p. 2; retrieved January 9, 2019.

[7] Recording of KSTP-TV's story on WELY's closure in 1987; retrieved January 9, 2019.

[8] Transfer of control filing BTC-19970908GJ; retrieved January 9, 2019.

[9] Transfer of control filing BTC-19991124AAC; retrieved January 9, 2019.

[10] Transfer of control filing BTC-19970708GG, retrieved January 9, 2019.

[11] Bob Kelleher (February 20, 2005). "A new life for radio at the end of the road". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-02-21.

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