The station signed on for the first time on August 25, 1980, on 90.1 FM. The Quad Cities had been one of the last areas of Iowa and Illinois without a city-grade signal from an NPR station. Prior to 1980, the only source of NPR programming in the area had been a low-powered translator of Cedar Falls' KUNI, though much of the area got grade B coverage from Iowa City's WSUI. In 1991, it moved to its current frequency, and activated its Dubuque translator in 1996.
In March 2022, WVIK announced plans to realign its programming streams. The full-power 90.3 FM signal would drop its afternoon classical music block to air NPR news and talk programming full time, while the Davenport translator would air classical music full-time. As part of the realignment, the 105.7 FM frequency would be upgraded to cover more of the Quad Cities.[2][3]
On May 1, 2023, the programming realignment on WVIK took place with WVIK's main signal airing NPR news and talk and the translator airing classical music. The station's HD2 subcarrier became a simulcast of the Davenport translator.[4]
