WBKR


WBKR is an American radio station broadcasting a country music format on the FM dial at 92.5 MHz. The station is licensed to Owensboro, Kentucky. Its powerful 100,000-watt signal covers much of northwest Kentucky and southwest Indiana, including the Evansville area. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. The station transmits from a tower located near Utica, Kentucky on Kentucky Route 140. The studios are located at 3301 Freederica Street in Owensboro.

History

WBKR was founded and operated by the Hager Family, who were also the owners of the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer daily newspaper, as WOMI-FM, the FM counterpart to WOMI-AM, founded by the Hagers in 1938. The stations remained in the hands of the heirs of the original owners until 1993 when both were sold to Evansville-based Brill Media.
Brill Media operated WOMI and WBKR and also bought the cross-town competition and longtime rival stations, WVJS AM and WSTO FM. Brill Media declared bankruptcy in 2002, and the stations were placed in the hands of a chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee who sold them. WOMI AM and WBKR were acquired by Regent Broadcasting Corporation based in Covington, Kentucky. WSTO FM was purchased by South Central Communications Corporation of Evansville, which also operates WIKY-FM 104.1 MHz. WVJS AM 1420 kHz was purchased by the Cromwell Group, Inc., of Nashville, Tennessee, which also operates WBIO-FM 94.7 in Owensboro.
WBKR is known for its annual Telephone Pioneers Christmas Wish. This program involves monetary donations to needy families, and listeners can participate in a program where they pick a family to buy Christmas presents for.
The WBKR morning team of Chad Benefield and Angel Welsh is known as The Morning Drive on 92-5. One of the former hosts, Moon Mullins, died in 2017, and was an inductee of the Country Radio Hall of Fame.
The WBKR Midday Show is hosted by Barb Birgy. The WBKR Afternoon Show is hosted by Music Director Dave Spencer. At other times, listeners can hear on-air personalities Erin Grant, Brent Gardner, and Ethan Payne.