#63: Tim Milner – Milner Media Partners

Milner Media Partners began all the way back in 1983. Tim Milner and his brother Tommy were attending a Sox game together in Chicago. Before going to the game, they stopped at a bar nearby the stadium. The bar was playing 99.9 FM.ย  The two brothers had been trying to buy their own radio station for awhile and really loved what they heard on 99.9 FM. They went to the payphone at the bar and called the station to ask who the owner was. Tim and Tommy found out the station was in fact for sale and eventually purchased it for a million dollars with the aid of their parents, Gene and Jackie. When the Milners took control of the station, the call letters were changed to WBUS The Bus. It was a rock formatted station at the time. Unfortunately, in 1985, Tommy Milner died in a tragic car accident. After Tommy’s death, the format changed to Top 40 and had tremendous success. The station had a very large regional signal that reached not only Kankakee but into Chicago and parts of Indiana. Around 1994, the Milner family decided to sell 99.9 FM. The market was hot and the price was right. In March of 1995, Milner purchased 95.1 FM and that’s when WVLI The Valley was born. Tim had what he thought was a brilliant idea for a format: Greatest Hits, Greatest Artists. An oldies station essentially but, with a twist. Many thought that this format would not go over well. However, Tim proved them wrong. Here we are 27 years later and The Valley has become a staple for many in Kankakee County. It’s the number one most listened to radio station in our area. Not only that, Milner Media is also the home of two other successful radio stations, River Country 101.7 FM and WFAV 95.1 FM. River Country is also broadcast on 103.7 FM and locally in the Bourbonnais area on 96.1 FM.

On a more personal note, I’d like to thank Tim Milner and the entire Milner Media family for everything they have done to support me and Kankakee Podcast. Without the Milner family, I don’t think Kankakee Podcast would have happened. They didn’t create the podcast directly or anything like that. They did however give me my first job in radio back in 2014 and drilled into my brain just how important it is to make a positive impact on your local community. When I first started working at Milner Media, I didn’t think being involved with the community was as important as they made it out to be. Overtime I began to learn the importance of community. Tim Milner, his family, and my co-workers at Milner Media taught me that. So when I say Kankakee Podcast probably wouldn’t have happened without Milner Media, that’s what I mean. I have a career and a future that I love thanks to the Milner Media family. I hope they know how grateful I am for that.

Learn more about Milner Media’s radio stations below:

https://wvli927.com/

https://wivr1017.com/

https://wfav951.com/

Much Love,

Jake LaMore

P.S. Support the podcast for as little as $1/month:

https://patron.podbean.com/kankakeepodcast