WWGR

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

title: "WWGR" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["radio-stations-in-florida", "mass-media-in-fort-myers,-florida", "renda-broadcasting-radio-stations", "1969-establishments-in-florida", "radio-stations-established-in-1969"] topic_path: "general/radio-stations-in-florida" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWGR" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	WWGR
logo	WWGR GatorCountry101.9 logo.gif
city	Fort Myers, Florida
country	US
area	Southwest Florida
branding	Gator Country 101.9
airdate
frequency
format	Country music
erp	100,000 watts
haat	341 m
class	C0
facility_id	56985
callsign_meaning	Gator (short for alligator)
owner	Renda Media
licensee	Renda Broadcasting Corporation of Nevada
affiliations	Compass Media Networks
sister_stations	WJGO, WGUF, WSGL
webcast	Listen live
website	gatorcountry1019.com
licensing_authority	FCC
::

WWGR (101.9 FM, "Gator Country 101.9") is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States. It airs a country music format and is owned by Renda Media, with studios on Race Track Road in Bonita Springs.

WWGR's transmitter is off Corkscrew Road in Estero. It can be heard from Port Charlotte to The Everglades.

History

The station signed on the air on December 2, 1969.Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 page B-41. Retrieved Feb. 13, 2025 Its original call sign was WHEW and it was the sister station to WMYR 1410 AM. The two stations were owned by Robert Heckshur, who served as the president, general manager and chief engineer. While WMYR played Top 40 hits, WHEW was always a country music station. In its early years, it was only on an antenna at a height of 175 ft. That limited its coverage area. By the 1980s, it was getting increased competition from country music rival WCKT. That meant it had to battle for listeners and advertisers.

In 1994, the station was bought by Renda Broadcasting for $4 million. Following its sale, it took the name "Gator Country 101.9." (Gator is a shortened form of the word "alligator," an animal common in South Florida swamps.) The station changed its call letters to WWGR and began using the slogan "Southwest Florida's Country Station".

In April 2013, two air personalities on WWGR told listeners that dihydrogen monoxide, a scientific description of water, was coming out of their water taps, as part of an April Fool's Day hoax. This caused some alarm and the two were suspended for a few days. The station's general manager, Tony Renda made the decision. Renda later told The Fort Myers News-Press: "It is one thing when radio stations change their format or other crazy things they do. But you are messing with one of the big three, food, water or shelter. They just went too far; I just knew I didn't like that." The prank resulted in several calls by consumers to the local utility company, which sent out a release stating that the water was safe.

In 2005, WWGR moved its studios from Fort Myers to Bonita Springs, just across the street from the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track. The building houses WWGR and sister stations WSGL, WJGO, and WGUF.

References

[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2010/D-2010-BC-YB-7.pdf ''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010'' page D-137. Retrieved Feb. 13, 2025.]
(April 3, 2013). "Florida DJs Are Off the Hook for Their Successful April Fool's Prank". The Atlantic Wire.
(April 1, 2013). "Presenters suspended for April Fool hoax". Radio Today.
(April 2, 2013). "2 radio personalities suspended due to April Fools' Day prank". WFTV.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::