WGER (106.3 FM, "106.3 The Core") is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan, broadcasting a classic alternative format. The station broadcasts from a transmitter southeast of I-675 Exit 6 (Tittabawassee Road) in Carrollton Township in Saginaw County. History Beginnings at 102.5 Established by James Gerity, a professional violinist who acquired WNEM-TV in 1961, WGER began broadcasting later that year at 102.5 MHz under the WNEM-FM calls and featured a Beautiful Music format for the first couple decades of its existence. The call letters were changed to WGER after Gerity sold the TV station in 1969. WGER's beautiful music format, programmed by TM Programming, achieved high ratings in adult demographics in both the Tri-Cities and Flint markets thanks to its 86,000-watt signal licensed to Bay City. At one point, in 1971, Arbitron research showed that WGER was the second highest-rated radio station in the nation. During this time, Gerity owned several other stations across Michigan, including WABJ and WQTE in Adrian and WPON in Pontiac. Sale and move to 106.3 James Gerity died in 1973. In 1986, Gerity's estate sold WGER to the owner of CHR-formatted WIOG, licensed to Saginaw at 106.3 which was sold to F-B Communications, a company headed by Jack Fitzgerald, who also served as what would become the new WGER 106.3's general manager. In the mid-1980s, the local radio scene was undergoing some major changes, with the Saginaw radio market being enlarged to include Bay and Midland Counties as well as Saginaw County and becoming the Saginaw-Bay City-Midland radio market and with Pinconning-based WFXZ "Foxy 101" entering the CHR fray as a direct competitor to WIOG. As a result, WGER and WIOG swapped frequencies that summer, with WGER moving its easy listening format to 106.3. WGER evolved from easy listening to mainstream AC on 106.3 and eventually took the name "Soft Rock 106.3" by the late 1980s before adopting the moniker "Magic 106.3". In April 1996, WGER was sold to Fritz Broadcasting, which owned WSGW and WIOG, for $4.2 million. The format remained the same. By 2005, WGER had evolved from mainstream AC to Hot AC, although it would be several months before the station stopped reporting to Radio & Records/Mediabase 24/7's Adult Contemporary airplay panel and switched to the Hot AC panel. The station added songs like "Fergalicious" by Fergie and "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane that did not fit the AC format and