The station signed on the air on June 2, 1971; 53 years ago (1971-06-02).[2] Its original call sign was WHLB-FM. It was the FM counterpart of WHLB 1400 AM, which dated back to 1936 but is now dark. WHLB-FM broadcast at first on 107.1 MHz as a Class A station with 3,000 watts on a 105-foot tower. Its signal was limited to an area in and around the town of Virginia.
It later moved to its current frequency of 99.9 MHz, allowing it to increase its power and tower height. It changed its callsign to WIRN to represent its listening area, the "Iron Range" of Minnesota. It switched its call sign to WUSZ in 1993, using the moniker "Radio USA."
