The station began operations in 1983 as WZRO "5 County Country", then changed to WEZO, and changed to WWHP as "The Whip". It played a variety of music genres, primarily Americana roots, classic country, blues, and bluegrass. The station claimed to be located, "somewhere between Memphis and Chicago."[4]
After a change in ownership in early 2014, the station changed formats to classic hits.[5]
On November 23, 2015, WWHP became "NewsTalk 98.3" with a local morning and afternoon drive.
Former Cities 92.9 morning host Ian Bayne took over the station as program director and general manager and hosted the morning show from 6-9 am, installing national Breitbart editor Mike Flynn from 3-6 pm. Other programming included Laura Ingraham, Dana Loesch, Jerry Doyle, and Lars Larson.[6]
On May 30, 2016, WWHP changed its format to classic rock.
On January 24, 2018, the station changed its call sign to WEXG and rebranded as "The Edge".[7]
On October 6, 2020, WEXG changed its format from classic rock to a simulcast of Christian radio-formatted WPEO 1020 AM Peoria, branded as "The Word", and adopted a new WPEO-FM call sign the next day.[8] Smash Hit then sold the station to WPEO owners WPEO Radio Foundation for $159,900.[9] The sale was consummated on March 16, 2021.