WFHR’s Parking Lot Party – 85 Years!

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. (WFHR, WIRI) – Station staff are busy preparing for WFHR’s Parking Lot Party. It’s on Wednesday, August 20th from noon-6pm right at the WFHR and WIRI Stations at the roundabout. We’ve only been at this location since January, 2022, however, WFHR has been on the air since November, 1940.

Short History

WFHR stands for William F. Huffman Radio, founder and owner of WFHR – AM Radio in Wisconsin Rapids. At the time, Mr. Huffman was also the owner and publisher of the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. The inaugural programming on the station began with not only music but also county, state, and national election results.

Juli Buehler wrote a research paper in 1981 after having worked at WFHR the previous two summers. Called “Radio Station WFHR A Look At Its Development And Future” dated December 1, 1981, Buehler says WFHR is one of the first stations to sign on the air in Wisconsin. William F. Huffman began the application process with the F.C.C. in 1937. It took three years before the station could begin broadcasting and Huffman died a short nine years later at the age of 54. The first location of the station was on the second floor of the Nash Hardware building. Most of the programming was live, including the music and all of the commercials, according to Buehler’s research.

WFHR has moved around the city of Wisconsin Rapids throughout the 85 years it’s been on-air. In 1957, the station moved to a house that was located on the present site of the Daily Tribune Building. Once the building was completed in 1960, WFHR and the Daily Tribune moved into the new building located on 220 First Avenue South.

Industrial Park Location

In the early 80s, WFHR relocated to a new building at 645 25th Avenue North in the industrial park on the west side of Wisconsin Rapids. The larger space better accommodated the growing staff of the station. However, the number of staff dwindled over the years and through different ownerships.

Owners of the Station

After the Huffman family, owners of WFHR included: Gazette Printing Company of Janesville, WI, NRG Media, Cedar Rapids IA, Seehafer Broadcasting Corporation of Manitowoc, WI. In 2021, Marcus Jaeger of Heart of Wisconsin Media purchased both WFHR and WIRI stations and in January of 2022, moved them to the current location at 1690 2nd Avenue South.

Civic Media

In August, 2022 the sale of both WFHR and WIRI stations were complete. The stations are now owned by Civic Media with CEO Sage Weil of Madison. WFHR has always been a central Wisconsin station throughout the past 85 years. Under Civic Media, that local effort remains in the forefront of the mission, vision, and values. We continue to have local voices sharing news, community events, and local sports.

WFHR’s Parking Lot Party

It’s because of our listeners that we’re still here and we want to party with you! Please join us on Wednesday, August 20th between 12:00 – 6:00pm. We’ll have food trucks, activities for the kids, games, a staff dessert contest, live broadcasts, local non-profits with information tables, station tours, and more! You can find the event on our Facebook page! You can also submit family recipes for our 85th Anniversary WFHR Cookbook. We’ll be collecting those over the next few months, hoping to publish it by our anniversary in November.