Media in the Quad Cities

Newspapers, radio, and television in the Quad Cities area of the United States.

Print

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Three local daily newspapers serve the Quad Cities, all of them morning editions. The Quad-City Times, based in Davenport, is circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area, including Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Island County in Illinois. The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus, published in East Moline, is a daily newspaper based on the Illinois side. While the Times has a primary focus on the Iowa side, and a majority of the coverage in the Argus and Dispatch is on the Illinois side, both newspapers cover the entire Quad Cities.

The daily newspaper serving Henry County, Illinois, is the Star Courier, based in Kewanee.

Weekly newspapers in the Quad Cities include The North Scott Press, based in Eldridge and covering northern Scott County and the North Scott Community School District; the Erie Review (based in Erie in Whiteside County, Illinois, but also including coverage of upper Rock Island County including Port Byron and the Riverdale Community Unit School District 100); and Henry County weeklies including the Cambridge Chronicle, Geneseo Republic and Orion Gazette. The Aledo Times-Record is the weekly newspaper for Mercer County.

The River Cities' Reader is the area's alternative weekly. In addition to in-depth stories and editorials covering government and culture in the Quad Cities, issues of the Reader contain listings of arts and entertainment events taking place throughout the area, and provides critical reviews for regional art exhibitions, music concerts, and theatrical performances.

Radio

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Start dates are for the frequency/station license, not for callsign or programming that may have moved from license to license.

Freq Call City Owner Start ERP (W) Branding Format RDS HD
88.1 WAXR Geneseo American Family Association 2001 3,000 88.1 WAXR Religious Yes No
88.5 KALA Davenport St. Ambrose University 1967 10,000 88.5 KALA College radio Yes 2
89.3 WDLM-FM East Moline Moody Bible Institute 1980 100,000 89.3 WDLM Religious Yes No
90.3 WVIK Rock Island Augustana College 1963 31,000 90.3 WVIK Public Radio, News/talk Yes 2
90.7 WVKC Galesburg Knox College 1961 1,000 Tri States Radio College radio No 2
91.1 KNSB Bettendorf University of Northern Iowa 2010 740 91.1 KNSB Public Radio Yes Yes
91.7 KSUI Iowa City University of Iowa 1948 100,000 91.7 KSUI Classical Yes 2
92.5 WGVV-LP Rock Island Quad Cities Community Broadcasting Group 2004 66 Groove 92.5 Urban Contemporary Yes Yes
93.1 KMCS Muscatine Jam Media Solutions 1996 4,400 93.1 The Buzz Mainstream Rock Yes No
93.5 KJOC Bettendorf Townsquare Media 1984 6,000 I-Rock 93.5 Active rock No No
93.9 KQCJ Cambridge Virden Broadcasting Corporation 2003 4,200 Planet 93.9 FM Alternative Rock Yes No
94.5 K233AA Davenport University of Northern Iowa 1980 170 [t]90.9 KUNI News/Talk, Adult Alternative Yes No
94.7 KMCN Clinton Gendreau Broadcast LLC 1970 3,000 Mac 94.7 Adult Hits Yes No
96.1 KMXG Clinton iHeartMedia 1947 100,000 Mix 96 Adult Contemporary Yes[a&t] No
96.9 WXLP Moline Townsquare Media 1970 50,000 97X Classic rock Yes[a&t] No
98.3 W252EM Davenport Augustana College 2023 250 [t]WVIK-HD2 Classical No No
98.9 WLKU Rock Island Educational Media Foundation 1947 39,000 K-Love Christian AC Yes[a&t] No
99.7 KBEA-FM Muscatine Townsquare Media 1949 100,000 B100 Contemporary hit radio Yes[a&t] No
101.3 KUUL East Moline iHeartMedia 1976 50,000 101.3 KISS FM Contemporary hit radio Yes[a&t] No
102.1 K271AF Eldridge University of Northern Iowa 1999 250 [t]90.9 KUNI News/Talk, Adult Alternative Yes No
102.3 WRMJ Aledo WRMJ LLC 1979 3,000 Today's Country - Your All Time Favorites Country No No
102.5 WJRE Kewanee Virden Broadcasting Corporation 1966 6,000 Hog Country 102.5 Country No 4
103.1 KTJT-LP Davenport Davenport Educational Association 2005 100 ? Religious No No
103.7 WLLR-FM Davenport iHeartMedia 1948 100,000 103.7 WLLR Country Yes[a&t] 3
104.1 K281DB Davenport Townsquare Media 2021 250 [t]ESPN 1170 AM Sports Yes No
104.5 K283BV Davenport iHeartMedia 2015 250 [t]Alt 104.5 Alternative Rock Yes[a&t] No
104.9 KIIK-FM DeWitt Townsquare Media 1977 12,000 US 104.9 Country Yes[a&t] No
106.1 K291BP Bettendorf St. Ambrose University ? 250 [t]88.5 KALA College, Variety No No
106.5 KCQQ Davenport iHeartMedia 1966 100,000 Big 106.5 Classic Hits Yes[a&t] No
107.1 K296GZ Davenport Grace Community Church of Amarillo 2022 250 [t]Radio By Grace[W] Religious No No
107.7 WQUD Erie JMRW, LLC 2015 6,000 Vintage Radio Oldies, classic country Yes No
107.9 KRQC-LP Davenport Davenport Adventist Radio 2004 100 Davenport Adventist Radio Religious No No
Freq Call City Owner Start Day Power (W) Night Power Branding Format Stereo HD
860 KWPC Muscatine Jam Media Solutions 1947 250 8 AM 860 KWPC Classic Country No No
960 WDLM East Moline Moody Bible Institute 1960 1,000 102 WDLM Christian Talk No No
1170 KBOB Davenport Townsquare Media 1946 1,000 1,000 ESPN 1170 AM Sports No No
1230 WFXN Moline iHeartMedia 1946 1,000 1,000 Fox Sports 1230 Sports No No
1420 WOC Davenport iHeartMedia 1922 5,000 5,000 News Talk 1420 News/Talk No No

In addition, the Quad Cities had three AM allocations that are now silent:

  • WKBF, which went on the air in 1925 (originally as WHBF) at 1270 AM and last formatted Mexican/Hispanic music as "La Jefe 1270." The station went off the air in the fall of 2018, and its license was cancelled by the Federal Communications Commission on June 1, 2020.
  • An allocation at 1500 AM, assigned to Geneseo, Illinois, which went silent in the late 1990s and held the call letters WGEN. The station had been paired with an FM signal at 104.9, which was later sold to other owners (currently Townsquare Media) and its city of license moved to DeWitt, Iowa.
  • An allocation at 1580 AM, which has been silent since 2000 after several years of format and ownership changes. That station was last known as KFQC, a black gospel station. The station originally signed on the air in 1952 as KFMA, and at its height was known as KWNT and formatted country music. Various formats, including urban contemporary and nostalgia/adult standards, would air on the frequency from the early 1980s until going off the air.

Television

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Virt.
Ch.
Call City Owner Operator Start Digital
Ch.
DTV Nickname Programming
4.1 WHBF Rock Island Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group 1950 4 1080i Local 4 CBS
4.2 480i Court TV 4.2 Court TV
4.3 480i Grit 4.3 Grit
4.4 480i Escape 4.4 Court TV Mystery
6.1 KWQC Davenport Gray Television Gray Television 1949 17 1080i TV 6 NBC
6.2 480i Ion 6.2 Ion Television
6.3 480i Cozi 6.3 Cozi TV
6.4 480i H&I 6.4 Heroes & Icons
6.5 480i Start TV 6.5 Start TV
6.6 720p Circle TV 6.6 Circle TV
8.1 WQAD Moline Tegna Tegna 1963 31 720p News 8 ABC
8.2 480i Antenna TV 8-2 Antenna TV
8.3 720p MyTV 8-3 MyNetworkTV
8.4 480i True Crime 8-4 True Crime Network
8.5 480i Twist 8-5 Twist
8.6 480i Quest 8-6 Quest
8.7 480i Newsy 8-7 Newsy
18.1 KLJB Davenport Mission Broadcasting Nexstar Media Group 1985 30 720p Fox 18 Fox
18.2 480i Me-TV Quad Cities Me-TV
18.3 480i Rewind TV Quad Cities Rewind TV
18.4 480i Bounce Quad Cities Bounce TV
24.1 WQPT Moline Western Illinois University-Quad Cities Western Illinois University-Quad Cities 1983 23 1080i WQPT PBS
24.2 1080i WQPT Worldview Deutsche Welle
26.1 KGCW Burlington Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group 1988 21 720p Quad Cities CW The CW
26.2 480i This TV 26.2 This TV
26.3 480i Laff 26.3 Laff
26.4 480i Local 4 CBS
36.1 KQIN Davenport Iowa Public Broadcasting Board Iowa Public Broadcasting Board 1991 34 1080i IPBS HD PBS
36.2 480i IPBS Kids PBS Kids
36.3 480i IPBS World PBS World
36.4 480i IPBS Create Create
53.1 WMWC Galesburg Trinity Broadcasting Network Trinity Broadcasting Network 2012 8 480i TBN 53 Trinity Broadcasting Network
53.2 480i TCC 53.2 Hillsong Channel
53.3 480i JUCE 53.3 JUCE TV/Smile
53.4 480i Enlace 53.4 Enlace
53.5 480i Salsa 53.5 TBN Salsa