WPRR (AM)


WPRR is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. The station is currently owned by Goodrich Radio.

History

The station went on the air as WBHD on September 4, 1998. On October 15, 1998, the station changed its call sign to WJNZ flipping to an Urban Contemporary format as "1680 Jamz," giving Grand Rapids its first 24-hour Urban station at the time. By 2003, the station moved to 1140 AM, but that station eventually changed its format to Catholic-centered talk and preaching.
On June 16, 2003, the station changed the call letters to WDSS and placed the Radio Disney format on the frequency. The station was poorly maintained during the Radio Disney years as station IDs were often mixed up and no ID was heard at the top of the hour.
On August 7, 2008, WDSS discontinued the Radio Disney format, switching to a continuous-loop announcement, announcing the changeover to a new "Public Reality Radio" format in September. The announcement also mentioned that the station's call sign would change over to WPRR on August 18. According to station owner Bob Goodrich, Public Reality Radio will be a non-profit, educational endeavor, featuring "a variety of podcasts and programming." On September 22, 2008, "Public Reality Radio" was launched, which includes programming from the Pacifica Radio network.
On July 23, 2020 WPRR dropped the "Public Reality Radio" format and changed their format to urban adult contemporary, branded as "102.5 The Ride".

Translators

In 2010, WPRR established a repeater, W237CZ at 95.3 MHz. Goodrich would acquire the repeater from the Horizon Christian Fellowship in February 2010.
On November 19, 2012, WPRR purchased WXPZ from Larlen Communications. On July 5, 2014, WXPZ's callsign was changed to WPRR-FM.
In 2016, WPRR purchased W273DD at 102.5 MHz and moved it to Alpine Township. This repeater went on air in early 2017.

Programming

Programs previously aired on the station included Democracy Now!, The Thom Hartmann Program, The David Pakman Show, The Union Edge, Loud and Clear with Brian Becker, The Bradcast with Brad Friedman and other local shows.

Previous logo