# WILS

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This article is about the radio station. For the orchid genus, see [× Wilsonara](/source/%C3%97_Wilsonara). For the radio station in Lansing, Michigan, formerly known as WILS-FM, see [WHZZ](/source/WHZZ).

Radio station in Lansing, Michigan, United States

WILS Lansing, Michigan United States Broadcast area Lansing-East Lansing metropolitan area Frequency 1320 kHz Branding 1320 WILS Programming Format Talk radio Network Fox News Radio Affiliations NBC News Radio Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Salem Radio Network Westwood One Ownership Owner MacDonald Broadcasting Sister stations WHZZ, WQHH, WXLA History First air date February 19, 1947 (1947-02-19) Call sign meaning Ingham County, Lansing Technical information[1] Licensing authority FCC Facility ID 39537 Class B Power 25,000 watts day 1,900 watts night Transmitter coordinates 42°37′19″N 84°38′38″W / 42.62194°N 84.64389°W / 42.62194; -84.64389 Links Public license information Public file LMS Webcast Listen live Website www.1320wils.com

**WILS** (1320 [AM](/source/AM_broadcasting)) is a [commercial radio](/source/Commercial_radio) station in [Lansing, Michigan](/source/Lansing%2C_Michigan). It is owned by [MacDonald Broadcasting](/source/MacDonald_Broadcasting) and airs a [talk radio](/source/Talk_radio) [format](/source/Radio_format). It features a local news department and a mixture of local and national talk personalities. The studios and offices are on West Cavanaugh Street in Lansing.

WILS is powered at 25,000 watts by day. To protect other stations on [AM 1320](/source/AM_1320), it reduces power to 1,900 watts at night. It uses a [directional antenna](/source/Directional_antenna) day and night. The [transmitter](/source/Transmitter) is located off North Green Road in [Dimondale](/source/Dimondale%2C_Michigan).[2]

## Programming

WILS is home to the locally produced "Morning Wakeup with Mike Austin". It is heard weekdays, focusing on local issues and politics. The program was formerly hosted by Dave Akerly. [Syndicated](/source/Radio_syndication) talk shows round out the rest of the weekday schedule: [Glenn Beck](/source/Glenn_Beck), [Sean Hannity](/source/Sean_Hannity), Rick Valdes, [Lars Larson](/source/Lars_Larson), [Dennis Prager](/source/Dennis_Prager), *[Coast to Coast AM](/source/Coast_to_Coast_AM)* and *[America in the Morning](/source/America_in_the_Morning)*. Weekends include shows on money, health, real estate and technology. Syndicated programs include *[The Kim Komando Show](/source/The_Kim_Komando_Show)* and *[Rich DeMuro on Tech](/source/The_Tech_Guy)*. Some weekend hours are paid [brokered programming](/source/Brokered_programming). Most hours begin with world and national news from [Fox News Radio](/source/Fox_News_Radio).

WILS became the only full-time talk radio station in the market on December 1, 2025, as longtime competitor [WJIM](/source/WJIM_(AM)) (1240 AM) - also [licensed](/source/City_of_license) to Lansing - changed to a sports format.[3]

## History

### Early years

WILS [signed on](/source/Sign-on) the air on February 19, 1947. It was a [daytimer](/source/Daytimer) at 1430 kHz with 500 watts of power, and required to go off the air at night.[4] The transmitter for the station was on East Mount Hope Avenue, with studios in downtown Lansing at Saginaw and North Washington.[5]

In March 1950, the station moved to [1320 AM](/source/1320_AM).[6] It increased power to 1,000 watts with a directional antenna array located at 600 W. Cavanaugh Road. In 1952, the [Federal Communications Commission](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission) granted WILS another increase in its power, this time to 5,000 watts daytime and 1,000 watts nighttime, using separate directional arrays. In 1966, the studios were moved from downtown to the Cavanaugh Road site, where they remain today.[5]

### TV stations

The Lansing Broadcasting Company, original owners of WILS, made two attempts to enter the world of television. The first was an unsuccessful UHF station, WILS-TV, which began broadcasts in 1953. A year later, the company leased it to another group, under which it operated as [WTOM-TV](/source/WTOM-TV_(Lansing%2C_Michigan)) until its 1956 demise. By that time, WILS was chasing a VHF allotment to [Parma](/source/Parma%2C_Michigan) and [Onondaga](/source/Onondaga%2C_Michigan), proposing to share time with a station to be run by [Michigan State University](/source/Michigan_State_University).

WILS's second and more successful station, [WILX-TV](/source/WILX-TV) channel 10, went on the air March 15, 1959. It was owned by Jackson Telecasters,[7] a company in which Lansing Broadcasting owned a 50 percent stake, along with WJCO radio (AM 1510, now [WJKN](/source/KTGG)).

### Top 40 era

WILS was a popular [Top 40](/source/Top_40) music station in Lansing during the 1960s and 1970s. One noted WILS personality during the 1960s Top 40 era was [John Records Landecker](/source/John_Landecker), who later went on to great success at [WLS](/source/WLS_(AM)) in Chicago, [WPHR](/source/WENZ) in [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland) and [CFTR](/source/CFTR_(AM)) in Toronto. Timmy O' Toole, another popular Chicago radio personality, worked at WILS from 1969 to 1971 before he joined [WLUP](/source/WCKL_(FM)) in 1977.[8] He later was heard weekends on [WLS-FM](/source/WLS-FM) in Chicago.[9] WILS was a fully-staffed live radio station until January 17, 1984, when the station switched to mostly [automated programming](/source/Broadcast_automation) and was known as *Hometown Radio 1320*.

The WILS [call sign](/source/Call_sign) was also shared with a [sister station](/source/Sister_station) at 101.7 FM, WILS-FM (now [WHZZ](/source/WHZZ)). From 1967 to 1972, WILS-AM-FM [simulcast](/source/Simulcast) a popular Top 40 format. In 1972, WILS-FM flipped to [country music](/source/Country_music). However Jerry Marshall's morning show, which originated on WILS, continued to be heard on WILS-FM as well. Three years later, in 1975, WILS-FM returned to a twelve-hour simulcast of the AM station in the daytime, followed by six hours of [progressive rock](/source/Progressive_rock) in the evenings and [jazz](/source/Jazz) overnight. The rock format was so popular that WILS-FM completely broke away from the AM station in 1978. The station was dubbed *Rockradio WILS 101 FM*.

### Sentry Insurance and Northstar Broadcasting

WILS and WILS-FM were purchased by Sentry Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the [Sentry Insurance](/source/Sentry_Insurance) Company, in August 1983, signaling format changes for both stations. WILS abandoned its live full-service [adult contemporary](/source/Adult_contemporary) format in favor of [Drake-Chenault](/source/Drake-Chenault)'s "Hitparade" soft hits format in January 1984. (The *[Larry King Show](/source/Larry_King_Show)* continued to air overnight). WILS-FM dropped its [album rock](/source/Album_rock) format as *101-ILS* in April 1984, switching to a [soft adult contemporary](/source/Soft_adult_contemporary) format branded as *Love Songs LS-102*. The Hitparade format on WILS was dropped in the fall of 1984 with the switch to Drake Chenault's "Lite Hits" automated format, closely matching the sound of WILS-FM. Morning drive and weekend dayparts were simulcast with live personalities on the FM side.

Sentry Insurance made the decision to divest their radio properties in 1986, leading to the sale of WILS and WILS-FM to Lansing-based Northstar Broadcasting in the fall of that year. WILS switched to an [urban contemporary](/source/Urban_contemporary) format in September 1987, once again utilizing a Drake-Chenault format called "Urban One", with the station branded as *1320 Jams*. Morning drive was hosted by local air personality Michael McFadden, who also served as the station's program director.

WILS became the first 24-hour urban contemporary station in the Lansing market as then-competitor [WXLA](/source/WXLA) was limited to daytime-only operation. The urban format proved to be a success and continued until 1992, shortly after WXLA launched a sister FM station, [WQHH](/source/WQHH), with a competing urban contemporary format. WQHH proved to be a significant competitor with its FM stereo signal, leading to the eventual end of the urban format on WILS. (WXLA and WQHH would later become sister stations of WILS.)

### MacDonald Broadcasting

WILS was purchased by [MacDonald Broadcasting](/source/MacDonald_Broadcasting), owner of several other stations in the Saginaw and Traverse City markets. The station switched briefly to a [country music](/source/Country_music) format (simulcast with WILS-FM) in 1992, and then flipped to [adult standards](/source/Adult_standards) in 1993. It was known as *Unforgettable 1320* and was an affiliate of [ABC Radio](/source/Citadel_Media)'s satellite-delivered adult standards/[MOR](/source/Middle_of_the_road_(music)) music package known as "[Timeless Classics](/source/Timeless_(radio_network))" (formerly "Stardust").

The station had had this format since the early 1990s and was quite successful in the ratings with it. The Timeless Favorites format moved to sister WXLA after that station was purchased by MacDonald Broadcasting. WILS and WXLA essentially simulcast their programming with separate IDs and imaging until 2006. WILS changed its format to [all-talk](/source/Talk_radio). It used the slogan *More Stimulating Talk Radio* airing personalities such as [Laura Ingraham](/source/Laura_Ingraham), [Clark Howard](/source/Clark_Howard), [Dennis Miller](/source/Dennis_Miller), and [Michael Savage](/source/Michael_Savage). Local personalities included then morning show host Walt Sorg, followed by Chris Holman, Tony Conley and former [WLNS-TV](/source/WLNS-TV) news anchor Dave Akerly, heard in [morning drive](/source/Drive_time). Sports talk show host Jack Ebling was an afternoon fixture on WILS before moving to [WQTX](/source/WQTX). In 2010, the station changed its slogan to the current *More Compelling Talk Radio* moniker.

On January 25, 2008, WILS turned on a new Windsor Township transmitter and became the most powerful AM station in Lansing. The 25,000-watt daytime signal covers much of [Mid-Michigan](/source/Mid-Michigan), and be easily received as far away as Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Mt. Pleasant, and Jackson. The directional pattern of WILS is limited to the east to avoid adjacent channel interference with [WTRX](/source/WTRX) (1330 AM) in Flint. The station switches to a 1,900-watt signal at night.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FCC-LMS-39537_1-0)** ["Facility Technical Data for WILS"](https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityTechDetails.html?facilityId=39537). *Licensing and Management System*. [Federal Communications Commission](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Radio-Locator.com/WILS](https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=WILS&nav=)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [https://talkers.com/tag/97-1-detroit-sports-radio-network/](https://talkers.com/tag/97-1-detroit-sports-radio-network/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["WILS Lansing Takes Air With 500 W on 1430 Kc"](https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1947/1947-03-03-BC.pdf) (PDF). *Broadcasting*. March 3, 1947. p. 36. Retrieved May 4, 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-hc_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-hc_5-1) ["History Cards for WILS"](https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=60822). [Federal Communications Commission](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission). ([Guide to reading History Cards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Radio_Stations/History_Cards))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["New Frequency Marks Fourth Year For WILS"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77062177/). *The State Journal*. March 12, 1950. p. 5:5. Retrieved May 4, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mg_7-0)** ["WILX-TV Channel 10 Onondaga/Lansing"](http://www.michiguide.com/dials/tv/wilx.html). *Station Listings*. michiguide.com. Retrieved December 8, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Home"](https://www.tomotoole.com/). *tomotoole.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [WLS FM](https://www.947wls.com)

## External links

- [Facility details for Facility ID 39537 (WILS)](https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=39537) in the [FCC](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission) Licensing and Management System

- [WILS](https://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?surveyID=SP26&band=am&callLetter=WILS) in [Nielsen Audio](/source/Nielsen_Audio)'s AM station database

- [Michiguide.com - WILS History](http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-g/wils.html)

- [1320-WILS-AM - More Compelling Talk Radio - Live and Lansing](https://www.1320wils.com/)

- [FCC History Cards for WILS](https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=60822)

v t e Radio stations in the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area (Michigan) By AM frequency 730 870 1110 1180 1240 1320 1390 1540 1580 By FM frequency 88.1 88.5 88.9 89.1 89.7 90.5 92.1 92.9 94.9 96.5 97.5 99.1 100.7 101.7 106.1 Translators 90.9 93.3 95.3 95.9 98.3 99.9 100.3 102.3 104.7 106.9 Digital radio by frequency & subchannel 90.5-1 90.5-2 100.7-1 100.7-2 100.7-3 By call sign KTGG W215CH W227DO W237BY W240CG W252CN W260BX W262BD W272EM W284AH W295BP WDBM WFMK WHZZ WILS WITL-FM HD2 HD3 WJIM WJIM-FM WJOM WJXQ WLMI WKAR WKAR-FM HD2 WLCM WLGH WLNZ WMMQ WQHH WQTX WUNN WVFN WWSJ WXLA Radio stations in Central Michigan Flint Lansing-East Lansing North Central Michigan Saginaw-Bay City-Midland South Central Michigan Thumb of Michigan Other nearby regions Ann Arbor Battle Creek Detroit Grand Rapids Kalamazoo See also List of radio stations in Michigan

v t e News/Talk radio stations in the state of Michigan All-news Detroit WDFN WWJ Full-time news/talk Adrian WABJ Ann Arbor WAAM WLBY Big Rapids WBRN Cadillac WATT Detroit WDTK WJR Escanaba WCHT Grand Rapids WOOD Hastings WBCH Holland WHTC Jackson WKHM Kalamazoo WKZO Lansing WILS Ludington WLDN Manistee WMLQ Muskegon WKBZ WOOD-FM Niles WTRC-FM Saginaw WSGW WSGW-FM Tawas City WIOS Traverse City/Petoskey WMKT WTCM Part-time news/talk Coldwater WTVB Escanaba WDBC Farmington Hills/Detroit WFDF Grand Rapids WTKG Hillsdale WRFH-LP Lansing WVFN Port Huron WPHM Sandusky WMIC Sault. Ste. Marie WKNW Benton Harbor/St. Joseph WSJM-FM Defunct Alpena WATZ Flint WFNT Ishpeming WIAN Manistee WMTE Port Huron WHLS See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Michigan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [WILS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILS) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILS?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.