 On August 1, 1981, the station boosted its power to 100,000 watts and became a classic rock station.On August 24, 2016, Midwest Communications announced that it was purchasing KQDS-FM, WXXZ, and KAOD from Red Rock Radio in a deal that also included sister stations WEVE-FM in Eveleth and KGPZ in Coleraine, as well as translators W221AU, W252AN, and W288AI; the sale was completed on December 31, 2016, at a purchase price of $5.625 million.Effective September 22, 2017, Midwest sold KQDS-FM's simulcast partners WXXZ and KAOD, along with translator W288AI, to Aurora Broadcasting L.L.C.