Editing KDWB-FM (section)

===63 KDWB===
{{See also|WREY}}
KDWB's origins date back to [[1951 in radio|1951]] on the AM dial at 1590&nbsp;kHz. The station was launched in August 1951, licensed to [[South St. Paul]] by the Tedesco brothers, Al, Vic and Nick,<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://startribune.newspapers.com/image/183409743/?terms=wcow&match=1|title=Aug 12, 1951, page 43 - Star Tribune at The Minnesota Star Tribune - The Minnesota Star Tribune Archive|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> as WCOW. On the air between dawn and dusk, the station played [[country music|country]] western and old-time music and signed on each day with a [[Cowbell (instrument)|cowbell]]. The offices and studios were located at 208 Third Avenue N., and the transmitter was located at 158 White Bear Avenue in North St. Paul.<ref name="auto"/> The Tedesco brothers had attempted to get into television the previous year, on channel 17, but financial backing fell through. (The channel 17 allocation was granted to [[Twin Cities Public Television]] in 1965.)

WCOW was not successful, so the station transitioned to a female-oriented format, with the call letters changing to WISK in May 1956,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://startribune.newspapers.com/image/187733333/?terms=wisk+++wcow&match=1|title=May 11, 1956, page 31 - The Minneapolis Star at The Minnesota Star Tribune - The Minnesota Star Tribune Archive|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and switched its frequency to 630&nbsp;kHz the next year. Once more, the format proved unpopular, and the station was sold the following year to the Crowell-Collier Broadcasting Company, owners of [[KFWB]] in Los Angeles and [[KNEW (AM)|KEWB]] in San Francisco. The [[top 40]] format of those stations, with strong California/West Coast style influence, was brought to Minnesota, and the call letters changed to KDWB in September 1959.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://startribune.newspapers.com/image/184366760/?terms=kdwb&match=1|title=Sep 16, 1959, page 34 - Star Tribune at The Minnesota Star Tribune - The Minnesota Star Tribune Archive|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> "Channel 63, KDWB" then began its long uninterrupted run as a pop music station, and quickly became a major competitor to the established [[WDGY]], which had been playing a pop music format for three years by that point. KDWB and WDGY were fierce rivals throughout the 1960s and 1970s; during that time, both stations gained more competition, as "Request Radio" AM 950 and FM 104.1 [[KZJK|KRSI]] (1968), [[KSTP (AM)|KSTP]] (1972), and [[KKMS (AM)|WYOO]] (1974) picked up the format.

As KDWB, the station became the first radio station to be fined by the [[Federal Communications Commission]]. In March 1961, six months after a review of the [[Communications Act of 1934]] granted it such power, the agency assessed a $10,000 penalty to the station for repeated willful violations of nighttime broadcast power restrictions on the [[AM band]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1961/1961-03-27-BC.pdf|page=46|work=Broadcasting|date=March 27, 1961|access-date=December 4, 2020|title=FCC throws the book at KDWB: $10,000 fine for power-antenna flub is first test of new law}}</ref>

====On-air staff and other programming====
During the 1960s and 1970s, Program Director Chuck Blore referred to the seven air shifts in 24 hours as "The 7 Swinging Gentlemen". They included:
* [[Don Bleu|"True" Don Bleu]]
* [[Bob Shannon (radio)|Bob Shannon]]
* [[Lou Waters|Lou Reigert]] (Lou Waters)

Other notable On Air Staff included:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://startribune.newspapers.com/image/181507934/?terms=%22rob+sherwood%22&match=1|title=Jan 02, 1973, page 19 - Star Tribune at The Minnesota Star Tribune|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://startribune.newspapers.com/image/184923855/?terms=%22rob+sherwood%22&match=1|title=Jan 01, 1969, page 19 - Star Tribune at The Minnesota Star Tribune - The Minnesota Star Tribune Archive|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://startribune.newspapers.com/image/186137978/?terms=%22kdwb%22&match=1|title=Jan 24, 1974, page 26 - Star Tribune at The Minnesota Star Tribune - The Minnesota Star Tribune Archive|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* Ron Block
* Charles Brown
* Barry McKenna
* Jonny Matthews
* Adam North
* Chris Roberts
* Jackson Ross
* Rob Sherwood
* Earl Trout

Syndicated and/or non-local originating broadcasts included [[American Top 40]] with [[Casey Kasem]], which aired Sunday evenings, and for over ten years, it was the highest-rated program in the Twin Cities market.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} Additional syndicated programming included "Jim Ladd's Innerview."

Program directors included Chuck Blore and Bob Shannon.

On April 18, 1994, after 36 years, the 630&nbsp;kHz frequency went dark. The owner, Midcontinent Media, sold the studio and tower site, which by then had been at Radio Drive and Interstate 94 for many years, for development. The regional headquarters of [[State Farm]] Insurance was built in its place.