Radio station with local ties celebrates 100 years

BY MERRINA O’MALLEY PRESS INTERN

WDGY Radio is a family-owned, rock ‘n’ roll radio station that will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

The station had its humble start in 1923 with a man named George Young, an optometrist who happened to dabble in radio broadcast service. Young’s radio was the first commercial station in the Twin Cities area

Due to Young’s death in 1942, the station experienced several ownership changes. In the early 1950s, the station was handed over to the Borgen family, and three generations later, they still keep the station running.

In 2010, WDGY owner Greg Borgen passed the business to his three children. The siblings, Brooke Willett, Brent Borgen, and Danielle Savage, grew up in Mahtomedi and are still a part of the community today.

Growing up in the broadcast industry, the siblings keep a special place in their heart for everything radio. As Willett recalls, some of her favorite childhood memories were visits to the towers with her dad.

President Brent Borgen started working for WDGY in 2010. As he put it, the change to working for the station was a “seamless transition”.

Danielle Savage, who handles the operations, began working there around the same time, and her sister Brooke Willett, who works in sales, returned about six years ago from working a corporate job. “I tried to leave,” said Willett, “but I got called back and I love it.”

In the last few years, WDGY has managed to double its listenership due to its new app and multiple AM and FM stations. Despite its growing

Manager Randy Roberts. This year’s engagement has increased; locals locals are making 96% more nominations than last year.

The ‘best of’ contest allows locals to pick their favorites, ranging from breweries to area businesses and everything in between.

Voting is available on the Press Publications website at www.presspubs.com/white_ bear/bestof . Each reader may vote up to one time per day.

Winners will be printed in a special section of the White Bear Press the week of Oct. 4 and also posted online.

SEE WDGY, PAGE 12B

Public Safety Briefs

A Howard Lake man, 30, faces up to five years imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $10,000 for felony assault following a June 26 incident at the Comfort Inn and Suites in the 3500 block of Vadnais Center Drive, during which he allegedly assaulted his wife.

At 11:56 p.m. June 26, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at a parking lot near the hotel on the after receiving a report of a male who had smashed a female’s head into the door of a vehicle.

Deputies found the woman unconscious in a vehicle, lying back in the passenger seat with her head slumped back over her shoulder. When she came to, she grabbed the back of her head saying she was in pain. While deputies spoke to her, she drifted in and out of consciousness.

According to the sheriff’s report, the victim later reported that she was arguing with her husband, the defendant. They had been at the Myth in Maplewood to see a concert. Her husband didn’t want to drive all the way home but wanted to get a room at the hotel. She did not want to get a room, saying that they could not afford it. His hands were in her face as they argued, so she slapped his hands away from her face. He grabbed her head and slammed it into the passenger side window three times. The next thing she remembered was that deputies were there trying to help her.

Deputies spoke to a witness, JD, who stated she saw a male slam the female’s head into the dashboard of the vehicle. Another witness, PJ, confirmed this account of the incident.

Deputies located the suspect inside the hotel.

According to the sheriff’s report, he said he had gone inside to rent a room and was inside waiting for his wife to come into the hotel. He said when he came back out, he found that his wife had locked herself in the vehicle. He then stated that he didn’t want to answer any additional questions. But he added he did not do anything to her and that she smacked him in the face.

The defendant has a prior arrest for domestic assault in 2019. The charge was dismissed after met certain conditions.

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