In the mid-1990s, one of the most popular Top 40 radio stations in the Midwest was Milwaukee’s WLUM “Hot 102.”
At the time, 19-year-old Carthage junior Don Wruck ’96 — already an accomplished DJ at Kenosha-area stations Power 95 and WLIP — got an unexpected call to host the evening shift on Hot 102.
“I remember sitting in my Johnson Hall dorm room when I got the call to take over the prime-time evening show,” Mr. Wruck recalled. “I was so excited I was practically on my way to their Mayfair Mall studio before the call was even finished.”
That was 1994. But just months later, with the rise of “Nirvana” and alternative music generally, Hot 102 flipped formats, abruptly ending the station’s Top 40 era — and with it, Mr. Wruck’s work in commercial radio.
“I had no interest in alternative music, and it showed during my broadcasts. It did not at all fit my outgoing style, and I just could not connect well with the artists, and it wasn’t fun anymore.”
Fast forward three decades. This August, 102.1 FM announced it was being sold to K-Love. Before the ownership change takes effect, Hot 102 is returning for one nostalgic day on Wednesday, Sept. 17 — and so is Mr. Wruck.
“I got a call a few weeks ago while having coffee at Carthage after teaching my class,” Mr. Wruck said. “It felt like the perfect full-circle moment having just returned to Carthage this year to teach.”
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the station will play hits from the actual summer of 1994 playlists and feature appearances from many of the original Hot 102 DJs joining from across the country. Mr. Wruck will host live from noon to 2 p.m., and plans to reflect on early days behind the mic and his continuing ties to Carthage. Local listeners can tune to 102.1 or stream the broadcast online at: www.fm1021milwaukee.com
Today, Mr. Wruck is back at Carthage, teaching in the School of Business and Economics, and earlier this year joined the Carthage College Board of Trustees. Read more about his appointment.
Mr. Wruck majored in economics at Carthage and attended law school at Valparaiso University. He is the founding partner and trial lawyer at Wruck Paupore PC. A native of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, he launched his radio career at age 15 with stints at WLIP, WIIL, and eventually WLUM in Milwaukee. He later appeared as a featured attorney on the award-winning courtroom reality drama “Juvies” on MTV and MSNBC.
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