Shaw Media completes purchase of 3 Kankakee radio stations from STARadio Corp.

Shaw Media has announced the purchase of the 101.3 WKAN, 106.5 WXNU, and 105.5 WYKT radio stations in Kankakee from STARadio Corp.

The Federal Communications Commission’s approval of the purchase went through in early June. Shaw Media now owns 12 radio stations in Illinois, including stations in the Illinois Valley and Sauk Valley.

“We’re very pleased to have completed the acquisition of WKAN, WXNU and WYKT,” said John Rung, CEO of Shaw Media. “These stations have a strong history of serving the Kankakee area, and we’re excited to build on that legacy alongside the Daily Journal. We believe deeply in local media and look forward to serving Kankakee-area listeners, readers and businesses in even more ways.”

Shaw Media was founded in 1851 and is the third-oldest, continuously owned and operated family newspaper company in the nation. It is one of the nation’s largest newspaper publishers, providing communities across Northern Illinois with print, online, and broadcast media products.

WKAN actually got its start as a sister organization to the Kankakee Daily Journal, according to an Aug. 23, 2025, blog post from Jack Klasey at the Kankakee County Museum. It began broadcasting on Sunday, June 1, 1947, at 183 N. Schuyler Ave.