WLAW-FM
country music radio station in Whitehall, Michigan, United States
WLAW-FM (97.5 MHz, "97.5 Nash Icon") was a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Whitehall, Michigan, the station served the Muskegon, Michigan market. The station's programming was derived from Cumulus Media Networks' Hits & Favorites format until Westwood One took over. It was heard as far as Grand Rapids, Michigan, east of U.S. Route 131, and it experienced interference from WJIM-FM from Lansing. It was last affiliated with Nash Icon, one of Westwood One's country networks. It was also heard on W256DM 99.1 in Muskegon.
History
The station began broadcasting on April 1, 1991, as WPBK-FM with a satellite-fed country format from Unistar Radio Networks, and became WEFG-FM ("Frog") soon afterward. In 1995, WEFG-FM's format changed to a 1970s-based classic hits format (as Eagle 97.5) satellite-fed from Westwood One. In 1999, Westwood One discontinued its 1970s hits format in favor of rhythmic oldies (tagged as "Groovin' Oldies"), and WEFG-FM continued with this format until switching back to country (as "Kickin' Country") in 2002 and then to sports in 2005.
On December 14, 2010, just four days after it was announced that Clear Channel/Muskegon would replace WSHZ's adult contemporary format with WMUS and its country format, WEFG-FM dropped its sports format as "The Champ" to pick up WSHZ's former one as "Sunny FM" WWSN. This marked the second time since 1996 that another station had used the "Sunny" moniker other than WSNX, whose call letters once matched that handle.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “WLAW-FM” is country music radio station in Whitehall, Michigan, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through WLAW-FM, country and music, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “country music radio station in Whitehall, Michigan, United States” 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 Mar 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7957469. Authority coordinates are 43.384, -86.325. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2002.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. 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 “WLAW-FM”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WLAW-FM primary sources, WLAW-FM archive and WLAW-FM 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 “WLAW-FM”?
- 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 “WLAW-FM” 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.