WELY (1450 AM and 94.5 FM, with a 103.9 FM translator) is a longtime community radio station based in Ely, Minnesota, serving the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota, and nearby communities. It is widely known as “End of the Road Radio” because Ely sits at the end of the road network—a former mining town that became a gateway for canoeists, outdoor enthusiasts, and visitors to the remote wilderness along the Minnesota-Canada border.
A short-lived predecessor station, WXLT, operated on the same 1450 kHz frequency in Ely for roughly two years in the late 1940s before failing financially in the tough iron-mining economy. Engineer Charles B. Persons (who had worked on WXLT) later obtained a construction permit, reused the site and tower, and launched WELY on October 2, 1954 (some accounts note October 11). Persons and his family lived above the studios in what became known as Broadcast House; mail addressed simply to “Broadcast House, Ely” was delivered.
The station started as a modest operation with limited power (initially around 250 watts) and poor coverage outside town due to low soil conductivity, but it quickly became a local favorite as the only radio outlet in a community of several thousand. Persons hosted a non-commercial Sunday “Hello Neighbor” fireside-chat program and successfully petitioned the FCC for permission to air third-party personal messages—critical in an era (and region) without telephones or cell service in the surrounding wilderness. This tradition of broadcasting personal and emergency messages to people in the BWCAW continues and is a distinctive feature of the station (one of only a couple in the U.S. with such a longstanding waiver).
Ownership Changes and Challenges
The station started as a modest operation with limited power (initially around 250 watts) and poor coverage outside town due to low soil conductivity, but it quickly became a local favorite as the only radio outlet in a community of several thousand. Persons hosted a non-commercial Sunday “Hello Neighbor” fireside-chat program and successfully petitioned the FCC for permission to air third-party personal messages—critical in an era (and region) without telephones or cell service in the surrounding wilderness. This tradition of broadcasting personal and emergency messages to people in the BWCAW continues and is a distinctive feature of the station (one of only a couple in the U.S. with such a longstanding waiver).
Ownership Changes and Challenges
WELY-FM signed on July 25, 1992 (briefly holding the call letters KQEK before becoming WELY-FM; it later operated on 94.5 MHz after an earlier frequency). The AM and FM operated as a pair thereafter.
In 1995, after another period off the air, legendary CBS journalist Charles Kuralt (famous for his “On the Road” segments) purchased the stations. Kuralt had fallen in love with Ely and the area; his ownership brought national attention and helped revive the “End of the Road Radio” identity. He owned it until his death on July 4, 1997.
The stations later passed through his estate and other private owners before the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa acquired them in 2005. The Band operated them for about 17 years (reportedly investing significantly) until financial pressures led to the stations going silent on December 1, 2022.
Zoe Communications of Shell Lake, Wisconsin, acquired the licenses (without the original downtown studios) in a deal consummated in 2023, but operations remained intermittent or largely silent due to technical and other challenges.
Revival Under Civic Media
Zoe Communications of Shell Lake, Wisconsin, acquired the licenses (without the original downtown studios) in a deal consummated in 2023, but operations remained intermittent or largely silent due to technical and other challenges.
Revival Under Civic Media
In early 2025, Wisconsin-based Civic Media acquired WELY-AM and WELY-FM (its first expansion outside Wisconsin) and returned them to the air. The company established new studios in downtown Ely, restored the AM signal (1450 kHz at reduced but effective power of around 770 watts non-directional, sharing a transmitter site south of town), and worked through antenna/transmitter issues on the FM (which has higher power—reported around 35 kW ERP after upgrades). A 103.9 MHz translator has provided local FM coverage during repairs.
Programming emphasizes local and regional content: community news, weather, high school sports, Minnesota Twins baseball, the long-running “Trading Post” (with “Trader Craig”), a popular Polka Show, music mixes (including oldies on the AM/Hometown Radio side), personal/emergency messages for the Boundary Waters, and community events. The station serves a small year-round population that swells dramatically with summer visitors and remains a vital information lifeline in a remote area with limited other media options.
WELY’s storyline mirrors the fortunes of Ely itself—from mining-era practicality and financial struggles, through periods of silence and revival, to its role as a cultural and practical hub for a unique wilderness gateway. Its enduring appeal lies in hyper-local service rather than mass-appeal formats: it connects residents, visitors, and people deep in the canoe country who otherwise have little access to outside communication. The “End of the Road” nickname captures both its geography and its character as a resilient small-town voice at the edge of the map.
As of 2025–2026, under Civic Media ownership, the stations continue operating from downtown Ely with a focus on community radio, streaming available online, and the traditional mix of music, information, and wilderness messaging that has defined them for decades.