The station was founded in 1947 as WFMJ-FM by William F. Maag, Jr. from whose initials the call letters were derived. Maag was also publisher of The Youngstown Vindicator, and owned WFMJ, and WFMJ-TV. WFMJ-FM was issued a construction permit in 1947, but the station did not go on the air until January 1950. Only a few years later, WFMJ Broadcasting Company requested that the FCC cancel the WFMJ-FM license, which they agreed to do on January 5, 1954. WSOM-FM, a new station in Salem, OH signed on the air on November 25, 1958. WSOM-FM was owned by Salem Broadcasting Company. WSOM-FM's call was changed to WQXK in January 1980, which was done shortly after Rust Communications Group purchased the station and sister station WSOM on December 13, 1979. This was the first of many ownership changes that occurred over the next several years. WQXK has been nominated numerous times for CMA Small Market Radio Station of the Year. WQXK took home the prestigious award in November 2004.
Grandfathered status
The station broadcasts 88,000 watts, which exceeds the FCC's current maximum power output, but it is grandfathered from the power limitation by virtue of its being in operation before the limit was introduced. The transmitter is located between Salem and Leetonia, OH on St. Rt. 344, just outside the Salem city limits. The most powerful station in the region, it covers not only Youngstown but also the Akron/Canton, Cleveland, Erie, Pittsburgh, and Wheeling/Steubenville markets. Because of the station's strong signal, WQXK is the highest-rated station in the Youngstown market, often attracting out-of-market listeners. K105's signal can be picked up clearly in over 20 counties in 3 states. It is not out of the question for it to be picked up in eastern suburbs of Columbus, when weather conditions are in favor. The station primarily competes with the Froggy stations for country music listeners. Those Froggy stations include WGYY 100.3 Meadville, PA & WOGI 104.3 East Liverpool, OH/Beaver Falls, PA. To a lesser extent, the station also competes with out-of-market stations such as WDSY-FM owing to WQXK's strong signal. Also, other stations in competition range are WQMX 94.9 Akron, OH, WYLE 95.1 New Castle, PA, WTUZ 99.9 New Philadelphia, OH, WOVK 98.7 Wheeling, WV, W259BW 99.7 Canton, WGAR 99.5 Cleveland, OH and WBBG 106.1 Niles, OH. K105 won the CMA Small Market Radio Station of the year award in 2004. K105 is also a participant in the Country Cares for Kids St. Jude Radiothon. The station alone, has raised over $3,000,000 since their partnership from the early 1990s. Former Personalities : Burton Lee, Dave Steele, K-Man, Annie Collins, A.J. McCloud, Justin Kelly, Gary Goddard, Kim Stewart, Mary Monroe, Betsy West, Stan Vitek, Trisha Anderson, Magic Bob, Iron Mike, Zach Daniels, Melinda Michaels, Mark Rich, Joy Kelner, Heather Stevens.
