WKKO

WKKO

Toledo, Ohio
Broadcast area	Toledo Metropolitan Area
Frequency	99.9 MHz
Branding	K100
Programming
Format	Country
Affiliations	Compass Media Networks Westwood One
Ownership
Owner	Cumulus Media (Cumulus Licensing LLC)
Sister stations	WRQN, WMIM, WQQO (HD2), WXKR
History
First air date	September 3, 1981 (as WKLR-Switched to WKKO in 1986)
Technical information
Facility ID	22673
Class	B
ERP	50,000 watts
HAAT	152.4 meters
Links
Webcast	Listen live Listen Live via iHeart
Website	k100country.com

WKKO (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in Toledo, Ohio with a country music format. It is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located in Toledo, and its transmitter is located in Harbor View, Ohio.

History

WKLR-FM (Toledo, Ohio) WKLR-FM was a pioneering radio station in Toledo, Ohio, operating at 99.9 MHz during the 1960s. Known on-air as KOOLER Radio and later Super Soul KLR, the station was one of the Midwest's first urban contemporary FM broadcasters, serving Toledo’s African-American community with a vibrant mix of soul, funk, and R&B music.

History In the mid-1960s, the WTOD (AM) station (1560 kHz), a popular Top 40 format station in Toledo, began simulcasting on its FM counterpart, WKLR-FM. In 1966, WKLR-FM broke away from the simulcast and launched its own Black-oriented format, branding itself as KOOLER Radio or Super Soul KLR. This made it Toledo's first urban contemporary FM station, featuring soul music, deep R&B tracks, and charismatic DJs.

Notable on-air personalities included Calvin "Baby" Richards, who later became a key voice at WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1967, Mark Lawrence Vosko, known as Motivating Mark Lawrence, hosted the overnight “graveyard shift.” The station's playlists included pivotal tracks such as Aretha Franklin’s Respect and Otis Redding and Carla Thomas’s Tramp, mirroring the growing cultural and civil rights momentum of the time.

WKLR-FM was founded by broadcasting entrepreneur Bob Martz, who was also the station manager of WTOD-AM. WTOD at the time branded itself as Turned-On WTOD, a high-energy Top 40 “screamer” station. One of its most popular personalities was Lee Fowler, known for his dynamic drive-time broadcasts.

Shortly after WKLR-FM fully transitioned into its soul identity, the station's studios were devastated by a fire, suspected by some to have been an act of arson. The station ceased operations soon afterward. By 1969, the WKLR call sign had been retired or reassigned, and the 99.9 MHz frequency would later resurface with a country music format under new ownership and branding.

Legacy Though its lifespan was brief, WKLR-FM (KOOLER Radio) left a lasting impression on Toledo's cultural landscape. It was among the first FM stations in Ohio to embrace a Black-focused format during the height of the civil rights era. DJs like Motivating Mark Lawrence and Calvin "Baby" Richards played a key role in creating a loyal listener base, and the station provided an important voice for African-American musical expression in northwest Ohio.

See also WTOD (AM)

Urban contemporary music

African-American history in Toledo, Ohio

History of radio in the United States

References WTOD (FM) – Wikipedia

WWYC – Wikipedia

Vosko, Mark Lawrence. Personal correspondence and firsthand account, 1967.

FCC History Cards – via WorldRadioHistory.com

WKLR 99.9 Toledo Survey – Las Solanas Archive

Robert Martz Obituary – Toledo Blade via Legacy.com

WTOD Radio Album – World Radio History

WOWO History – Wikipedia

Night Fire, Toledo, Ohio – Ohio Memory Project

During the summer of 1981, WKLR ("Kooler Radio"), a longtime R&B/soul and later Disco music station, changed to its current country format known as K100. Joe Hill (now retired OM/SM) of WHME/WHRI/WHRA/KWHR/KFLR was the first announcer when the station (then WKLR) went from 8,000 watts to 50,000 watts in the summer of 1982. After the power up, the station was heard in Detroit. In 1986, the call letters were changed from WKLR-FM to WKKO. The station was owned by Booth American of Detroit for some 30 years, then Fritz Broadcasting (also from Detroit) beginning in 1994. It was then sold to its current owner, Cumulus Broadcasting, in 1997.

WKKO has consistently been not only a market leader in the Toledo area, but its share of the market ranks among the highest nationwide. Longtime morning duo Mitch and Mary Beth left WKKO for WRVF (101.5) in 2000 and were replaced by WKKO Program Director Gary Shores and Assistant Program Director Harvey J. Steele, together known as Shores & Steele. The two had previously done afternoons for some six years, and were named Broadcast Personalities for medium markets by the Country Music Association.

As of 2021, the station’s lineup consists of the local Lyn & Cliff Morning Show, Toledo radio veteran Johny D on middays, and Mark “Mookie” Andrews on afternoon drive. Evening slot is filled in with the syndicated program Nights With Elania.[1] WKKO's competitors include its own sister station WMIM "Nash Icon" 98.3, as well as rival WPFX 107.7 and classic country-formatted WCKY-FM 103.7.

Simulcasting

in 1992, WTOD 1560 AM began a full-time simulcast of K-100 after a short-lived simulcast of WRED's country format. This lasted until 2004, when WTOD dropped K-100 for a talk radio format.

External links

• K100 Country - Official Site
• Facility details for Facility ID 22673 (WKKO) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WKKO in Nielsen Audio's FM station database