Some of the Upper Midwest’s oldest radio stations have recently crossed the century mark, or soon will.
While much about early radio is in dispute, including what should count as the beginning of broadcasts, here is what the FCC’s history cards say about existing Upper Midwest radio stations that can date their licenses to 1925 or earlier:
| Date first licensed | Originally | Now |
| 1/13/1922 | WHA Madison | WHA Madison |
| 1/13/1922 | WLB Minneapolis | KUOM Minneapolis |
| 4/19/1922 | WAAW Omaha | KCRO Omaha |
| 4/28/1922 | WOI Ames | WOI Ames |
| 5/15/1922 | WCAY Milwaukee | WTMJ Milwaukee |
| 5/23/1922 | WDAY Fargo | WDAY Fargo |
| 6/26/1922 | WSUI Iowa City | WSUI Iowa City |
| 7/27/1922 | WJAG Norfolk, NE | WJAG Norfolk, NE |
| 7/29/1922 | KWSR Cedar Rapids | KXNO Des Moines |
| 8/1/1922 | WMT Waterloo | WMT Cedar Rapids |
| 9/5/1922 | WLAG Minneapolis | WCCO Minneapolis |
| 11/9/1922 | WNAX Yankton, SD | WNAX Yankton, SD |
| 11/27/1922 | WOW Omaha | KXSP Omaha |
| 12/12/1922 | WPAH Waupaca, WI | WLBL Auburndale, WI |
| 4/28/1923 | KFGQ Boone, IA | KDLF Boone, IA |
| 6/2/1923 | KFJB Marshalltown, IA | KFJB Marshalltown, IA |
| 12/17/1923 | WDGY Minneapolis | KTLK Minneapolis |
| 7/6/1923 | KFIZ Fond du Lac, WI | KFIZ Fond du Lac, WI |
| 7/23/1923 | WSOE Milwaukee | WISN Milwaukee |
| 9/14/1923 | WTAQ Osseo, WI | WTAQ Green Bay |
| 12/1/1923 | KICK Atlantic, IA | WOC Davenport |
| 3/3/1924 | KFOR Lincoln | KFOR Lincoln |
| 3/12/1924 | KFOY St. Paul | KSTP St. Paul* |
| 4/15/1924 | WHO Des Moines | WHO Des Moines |
| 11/28/1924 | KFAB Lincoln | KFAB Omaha |
| 1/24/1925 | KDLR Devils Lake, ND | KDLR Devils Lake, ND |
| 3/24/1925 | WIBA Madison | WIBA Madison |
| 8/10/1925 | WRHM Minneapolis | WWTC Minneapolis |
| 9/12/1925 | KMA Shenandoah, IA | KMA Shenandoah, IA |
| 10/2/1925 | KSO Clarinda, IA | KRNT Des Moines |
| 11/11/1925 | KFYR Bismarck | KFYR Bismarck |
*The FCC’s history card lists KSTP’s “date first licensed” as 3/20/1928. However, it notes that KSTP was a consolidation of WAMD, first licensed 2/16/1925, and KFOY, first licensed 3/12/1924.
As you can see, many stations hopscotched around in the early days of radio, especially in Iowa. The FCC’s records indicate one station moved from Waterloo to Cedar Rapids and another moved from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines. Two western Iowa stations moved to Des Moines and Davenport, and a station moved from western Wisconsin to Green Bay.
This post has been updated to add KFIZ, KDLR, and KFJB.