About us

Long before satellite radio, YouTube Music, Personal Playlists and even FM, small town radio stations across America were burning up AM Radio Stations with great music, information and entertainment all while building strong communities along the way. 

AM 1230 in Ironton is one of America's most prestigious and recognized Community AM Radio Stations and it has a legacy too long for any publication, too many memories to recollect in any single setting and a host of Nationally known Media professionals that started their careers right here in Ironton through their time at AM 1230. 

1230 has been broadcasting from the same tower site at the intersection of State Route 93 and U.S. 52 in Ironton since September 1951 and has retained the same WIRO call signs from 1951-2022.    In 2022, AM 1230 was assigned the WITO call signs which were the original call signs of sister station 107.1 FM. 

In the 1990's, WIRO and sister station WMLV succumbed to the casualty of the Deregulation Policies of the FCC and Clinton Administration of the 1990's having been sold, consolidated and rolled into larger out of town conglomerates several times over a 5-year period and eventually became separated.  

In 2018, Lawrence County Native and National Media Broker, Bryan Fowler of Fowler Media at the request of his wife, Jody Fulks-Fowler, a 1987 Graduate of Ironton High School began the process of attempting to return control of AM 1230 and FM 107.1 to Ironton and local programming.   This included purchasing a station in neighboring Portsmouth, Ohio and working with several National Ownership Groups including iHeart Media and the Aloha Trust.  Through several years of strategic planning, consolidating, call sign changes and much work, both stations are now controlled by local owners and boast of local programming.   Making this happen took 7 format changes, 8 call sign changes and 5 ownership group changes. 

1230 WiTO is owned by KW Ministries, a 501c3 Ministry of Ironton High School Graduate Pastor Kevin West and is operated Commercially through a Local Management Agreement by for profit Fowler Media and includes several hours a day of local programming. 

The station operates under a commercial radio license and is operated by local volunteers. 

While it will never be 1960 and the golden age of radio again, we find great joy in bringing pack a piece of something and giving it to the Community of Ironton-something that was unnecessarily taken away over 3 decades ago. 

If we can make a difference in the life of one listener or one business owner, our work is a success. 

Local Radio is alive and well in Ironton, Ohio