WHOW
radio station in Clinton, Illinois
WHOW (1520 kHz, "The Big 1520") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Clinton, Illinois, United States. The station, established in 1947, is owned by the Miller Media Group and the broadcast license is held by Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc. WHOW is a daytime-only station broadcasting on the United States clear-channel frequency of 1520 AM. It must sign-off at night to protect Class A WWKB Buffalo, New York, and KOKC Oklahoma City.
WHOW broadcasts a farm news and talk radio format branded as "The Big 1520". The station airs local news and public affairs programs, agricultural news, and a tradio program called "RFD Trading Post". WHOW places special emphasis on serving the farm community of Central Illinois with a weekday morning farm show, live and local agriculture talk shows, a syndicated noon farm show, "The Horse Show", and frequent market reports.
Weekday syndicated talk programming includes Michael Medved, Jim Bohannon, Larry Elder and Red Eye Radio overnights. On weekends, WHOW carries CBS Sports Radio programming, along with a Saturday morning farm show, local Clinton High School football and basketball games, and afternoon blocks of classic country music.
History
Early years
This station began broadcast operations in August 1947 as a 1,000 watt daytime-only radio station broadcasting at 1520 kHz as WHOW. The station, licensed to serve the community of Clinton, Illinois, was owned by Dr. Keith Rhea, H.E. Rhea, Rex K. Rhea, Tom Dinsmore, and Frank Moots doing business as the Cornbelt Broadcasting Company.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “WHOW” is radio station in Clinton, Illinois. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through WHOW, radio and station, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “radio station in Clinton, Illinois” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7950340. Authority coordinates are 40.095, -88.964. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1520 and 1947.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WHOW”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WHOW primary sources, WHOW archive and WHOW research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WHOW”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WHOW” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.