WRNS-FM

WRNS-FM
Kinston, North Carolina; United States;
Broadcast area	Kinston, North Carolina
Frequency	95.1 MHz
Branding	"95.1 WRNS"
Programming
Format	Country
Affiliations	Compass Media Networks; Premiere Networks;
Ownership
Owner	Dick Broadcasting; (Dick Broadcasting Company, Inc. of Tennessee);
Sister stations	WERO, WQSL, WQZL, WRNS, WXQR-FM
History
First air date	October 12, 1968
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	36950
Class	C
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	459 meters (1,506 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	35.2826°N 77.6520°W
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wrns.com

WRNS-FM (95.1 MHz) is a radio station located in Kinston, North Carolina, in the United States. Its format is contemporary country.

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The station has a non-directional signal of 100,000 watts, that reaches "from the capital to the coast". The station has served Kinston and eastern North Carolina since the 1960s, when it was WFTC-FM. At one time, it was the only country station in the area and had one of the highest market shares of any station.^[3] Known for its generosity, the station has held a radiothon for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital annually for the past 5 years.^[when?] The station is constantly ranked as the #1 station in its market by Arbitron.

The WRNS-FM transmitter antenna is located on WCTI-TV's tower north of Trenton, North Carolina. Studios are located in New Bern.

In September 2017, Dick Broadcasting announced the purchase of Alpha Media stations in three markets — 18 stations and two translators in total, at a purchase price of $19.5 million.^[4] The acquisition of WRNS-FM by Dick Broadcasting was consummated on December 20, 2017.

Jim Mantel, who spent 18 years on WGAR-FM in Cleveland and was named to the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2017, retired in 2018 after hosting the morning show since 2010, joined by Crystal Legends in 2012.^[5] Bobby Bones moved from co-owned WQSL/WQZL to replace Mantel, and Legends, also program director, moved to middays.^[6]