WEUR
Broadcast areaChicago metropolitan area
Frequency1490 kHz
Programming
FormatPolish Language Talk and other ethnic programming
Ownership
Owner
  • Daniela Wojcik
  • (CSWWII, LLC)
History
First air date
October 7, 1950[1]
Former call signs
WEBS (cp)[2]
WOPA (1950[2]–1984)[3]
WBMX (1984–1987)
WPNA (1987–2022)[3]
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID1093
ClassC
Power1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
41°52′52″N 87°47′38″W / 41.88111°N 87.79389°W / 41.88111; -87.79389
Links
Public license information
Website1490.am

WEUR (1490 AM) is a time-brokered radio station licensed to Oak Park, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Daniela Wojcik, through licensee CSWWII, LLC.[5]

Programming

The majority of the station's programming is Polish language news, talk, and sports.[6] They feature polka music on the weekends with the long running Eddie Blazonczyk Polka Show hosted by Tish Blazonczyk,[7]

WEUR is the home of the Hagerty Family Irish Program, the longest running Irish program in the United States.[6] This program has been on the station every Saturday morning since 1951.[8]

History

WEUR's tower atop the Oak Park Arms

The station began broadcasting October 7, 1950.[1] The station's call sign was originally WEBS, but before going on the air the call sign was changed to WOPA to reflect the location of its studios.[2] The studios and antenna were in the former Oak Park Arms Hotel, now a retirement community.[2]

Pervis Spann began his radio career on WOPA in 1959.[9][10]

In 1984, the station's call sign was changed to WBMX.[3]

In January of 1987, the station was sold to the Polish National Alliance for $2 million, and its call sign was changed to WPNA on May 1, 1987.[11][3] WPNA was the home of the long-running Chet Gulinski Show, which featured polka music and was quite popular in Chicago's Eastern European communities.[12][13]

On May 25, 2022, the Polish National Alliance announced the sale of WPNA 1490AM to Daniela Wojcik's CSWWII, LLC for $725,000.[14] The sale was consummated on August 1, 2022. Alliance Communications, which operates Polish CHR WPNA-FM 103.1FM in Highland Park, IL retained the rights to the WPNA call letters & intellectual property.[15] The station changed its call sign to WEUR on August 31, 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-66. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 History Cards for WPNA, fcc.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WEUR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ↑ "WEUR Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  6. 1 2 "About Us", WPNA. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Eddie Blazonczyk Polka Show", WPNA. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  8. ↑ Curry, Cathy. "Chicago's First Family of Irish Radio", Irish American News, Chicago, May 2011. Retrieved on 23 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Pervis Spann", The Blues Foundation. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ Whiteis, David. "Not So Smooth Operator", Chicago Reader. January 18, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Changing Hands", Broadcasting. February 9, 1987. p. 118. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Chet Gulinski, Host of Radio Polka Show", Chicago Tribune. August 14, 1999. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ "WPNA AM 1490", Radio Chicago. Fall 1989. p. 25. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ Jacobson, Adam "Alliance Agrees To Sale of Chicago AM Serving Polish Community", "www.rbr.com", May 25, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Station Sales Week Of 5/27", "www.radioinsight.com", July 27, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
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