The station began broadcasting in 1946 and held the call sign WCBC.[1][3] It ran 1,000 watts during daytime hours only and was owned by Civic Broadcasting Corporation.[3] In 1960, the station was sold to Radio WBOW, Inc. for $185,000.[4][3] In September 1960, its call sign was changed to WERX.[3] It was changed to WHUT the following month.[3] In 1970, the station was sold to Eastern Broadcasting Company for $650,000.[5][3]
From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the station aired a contemporary hits format.[6][7][1][8] By 1984, it had adopted an adult standards format.[9][10] In 1985, the station was sold to Patch-Dunn & Associates, along with 97.9 WLHN, for $2,276,000, and in 1987 it was sold to Jon Mark Lamey, along with 97.9 WLHN, for $3,395,000.[11][12][13] In December 1997, the station was sold to the Moody Bible Institute, along with 97.9 WXXP, for $5.5 million and it adopted a Christian format.[14][15][16][17] In January 1998, its call sign was changed to WGNR.[18] In 2019, Moody announced it intended to sell the station.[19]
In 2020, Moody filed to sell the station and associated translator to Radio Punjab AM 1470 LLC for $129,000.[20] In January 2022, the owners-to-be selected the call sign WRPU for when the sale closed; the call sign change was approved before closure and, while still carrying Moody programming, the station adopted the new call sign on February 22.[21]
In 2023, Radio Punjab donated WRPU back to Moody; the donation was consummated on March 22, 2024. On April 1, 2024, the station changed its call sign back to WGNR.
