This station signed on the air in 1984. Prior to its sign-on, it had been assigned the call letters WIKV by the FCC. Since these calls were deemed by constructing supervisor Dave Murray (husband of Martha Murray, the original licensee) to be too close to the calls of a prominent FM in the market, WIKQ, the calls were changed, to WPRQ. All this transpired before the station ever officially hit the air.
The original power was 5,000 watts. This was increased later to 10,000 watts. The signal, which shares the clear channel of 870 kHz with Class-A 50,000-watt WWL in New Orleans, was licensed as daytime-only, which it remains today.
The original format was contemporary Christian hit music. Other formats have followed, including news/talk and religious talk. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, the station was dark (silent) for a time, but was sold and returned to the air. Its current owner, Kenneth Clyde Hill, owns other stations as well.
