KWWR-FM • 95.7 FM
60 years of mid-Missouri,
one dial at a time.
Mid-Missouri's Mix, Country 96. Country 96 has been the voice of Mexico, Missouri and the towns all around it since 1966 — locally owned, fiercely independent, and still playing the country you love.
Our story
The station mid-Missouri grew up with
From an easy-listening upstart to Missouri's biggest country station — here's how six decades on 95.7 happened.
In December of 1966, a brand-new FM signal crackled to life over Mexico, Missouri. For its first dozen years, KWWR-FM played easy listening — but in 1978 the station made the move that would define it forever: it went country, and it has never looked back.
Broadcasting at 100,000 watts from the tallest tower in Missouri, Country 96 throws a signal across central and northeast Missouri and into west-central Illinois. That reach turned a small-town station into a regional institution — the place farmers tune for markets and radar, where parents hear their kid's name on a Birthday & Anniversary shoutout, and where Friday nights belong to the Pearl Motor Game of the Week.
Through all of it, one thing hasn't changed: we're still local and still independent. Country 96 is owned by KXEO Radio, Inc. — a women-owned, locally operated company that also runs our news sister-station, KXEO News AM 1340. No distant corporate group, no out-of-state playlist. Just real people, in Mexico, Missouri, doing radio the way it was meant to be done.
Six decades
Milestones on the 95.7 dial
- 1966
The signal goes up
KWWR-FM signs on over Mexico, Missouri as an easy-listening station — the start of a six-decade run on the 95.7 dial.
- 1978
We go Country — for good
The station flips to country music and never looks back, becoming the soundtrack of Audrain County farmhouses, ballfields and pickup trucks.
- 1990s
100,000 watts strong
Broadcasting from the tallest tower in Missouri, Country 96 grows into one of the most powerful country signals between St. Louis and Kansas City.
- 2023
Still spinning the classics
Saturday-night Original Country Gold and the weekend oldies keep the legends on the air — a reminder of how deep our country roots run.
- 2026
60 years on the air
Still independent, still women-owned, still 100% local. Country 96 celebrates 60 years serving mid-Missouri — and we're just getting warmed up.
Coverage area
Heard everywhere it matters
At 100,000 watts from the tallest tower in Missouri, our signal blankets a huge chunk of the state and reaches into Illinois — and the stream goes everywhere else.
Illustrative coverage. Service area: Central & Northeast Missouri + West-Central Illinois.
Whether you're combining beans north of Mexico, driving the Route 54 corridor, or sitting in the stands at a Bulldogs game, Country 96 comes in loud and clear. Communities inside our primary listening area include:
- Mexico & Audrain County
- Columbia metro
- Fulton & Callaway County
- Moberly & Randolph County
- Hannibal & Mark Twain country
- Jefferson City reach
- Northeast Missouri
- West-central Illinois
What we stand for
The values behind the music
Sixty years in, these are the things that keep mid-Missouri tuned to 95.7.
Fiercely local
No corporate playlist piped in from another state. Real people who live here, broadcasting from 1705 E. Liberty St. — covering your school board, your team and your kid's FFA banquet.
Women-owned & independent
KXEO Radio, Inc. is locally owned and operated by women — a rarity in broadcasting. Our decisions get made in Mexico, MO, not a boardroom three time zones away.
Built for the country life
From the FFA Event of the Day to half-hourly radar during planting season, we program for the farmers, families and main-street businesses who make up mid-Missouri.
Neighbors helping neighbors
Blood drives, Relay for Life, the community job bank, storm coverage and birthday shoutouts. When the area needs the word out, the area turns to Country 96.
The voices
The people behind the mic
Real mid-Missourians who wake you up, get you through the workday and drive you home.
Recognition
A track record you can hear
We don't do this for trophies — but six decades of serving the area has earned a few bragging rights.
One of mid-Missouri's longest-running country stations
Tallest tower in Missouri — class C full-power signal
Listeners streaming from across the country
Decades of high school sports coverage
Family of stations
One team, two brands
Country 96 · KWWR-FM 95.7
The music brand — mainstream country, classic country specialty shows, contests, concerts and the soundtrack of mid-Missouri life.
KXEO News · AM 1340
The news brand — local headlines, Audrain County government, Cardinals baseball and the serious reporting that keeps mid-Missouri informed.
Sixty years strong — and the best is on right now.
Hit play and join the thousands of mid-Missourians who start, fill and finish their day with Country 96.