WIKB 99.1 FM

Slowly slipping into a generic radio station controlled by outside interests. They recently «downsized» a popular local host who subsequently quit. They also quit broadcasting Green Bay Packer games. One wonders how long the popular Telephone Time will last…

Just listened to it today. When visiting my Aunt and Uncle in the UP. I ALWAYS tune in to hear the local commerce. A joy to listen to truly local radio, as opposed to big city play lists and mass programming!

Serving Iron County, mainly Crystal Falls and Iron River, this was real old-​time radio all day long until a couple years ago. The station used to play 1940s and pre-​rock ‘50s music from the big band/​swing era. As the interest in such music waned and died along with the aging residents, it’s become the equivalent of your typical «Lite Rock» radio station with a mid-​morning twist.
Given the average age of most UP residents is 50 and over, the Internet and Craigslist are out of most people’s lexicons. Fortunately, there’s Jay Barry and his daily Telephone Time radio show, an old-​style radio call-​in show where people call the host and advertise things for sale or when they are looking for something. It has the added distinction of being the oldest running radio talk show in the country — since 1965, long before the oxycontin-​laced Limbaugh tirades and Don Imus’ racist remarks. Barry keeps it clean of politics and his show allows listeners to share stories of various local sightings, weather or fishing updates. Some of them are interesting, some of them are long-​winded old-​timer stories that people with short attention spans get bored of hearing. Still, Jay Barry is a voice I’m sure everyone in the 906 area code will easily recognize.
Got a snowmobile that is in decent shape but needs some fixing? Selling off your pickup truck? Call Jay Barry and it might be off your hands the same day. Need an outboard motor? Looking for a guy to remodel a room or shingle a roof? Call and tell what you need done.
Personally, we’ve even used the Telephone Time show to get a kitten almost 10 years ago. We also found a small, used refrigerator to keep drinks in the cabin basement, or a steel barrel for burning trash. Restaurant managers call in to announce their daily or weekly specials in the area. The one and only movie theatre in Iron County announces its weekly schedule every Friday too.
The rest of the day, keep it on The Breeze if you want Celine Dion and Elton John… Or switch over to Frog Country like me.