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The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

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Spread Love and Prayer!!

For ending relationships focus on spiritual well-being, alignment with biblical values, and maintaining peace .When there is any lack of peace/internal disquiet, unsafety, hindrance to spiritual growth, unequal yoking, unrepentant behavior/bad character, lack of clear guidance/confirmation, you need to rethink the relationship and talk about it or LEAVE!! You should be seeking God’s will, focus on holiness, and prioritizing God over worldly relationships.

Joe’s Monday Motivation: You might’ve felt lost or helpless and that’s never the case. You aren’t powerless if you have a plan. One way to help fight against feeling powerless is have a plan for prayer. Read the Bible and think about things YOU can pray about. Have three things ready to go to prayer about yourself, have three things you can pray about that are stressing you, and have three things that you can pray about for other people close to you or people you think about. God is our ARMERED tank.

You could win a fabulous prize from February 2nd through 12th! Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box. During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697). Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize. Congratulations to Trevor of Saint Louisville for taking home a $10 gift card to Dancing Bee Market & Studio and getting registered for the grand drawing!

Name a famous David: 

  1. David from the Bible (40) 
  1. David Letterman (11) 
  1. David Copperfield (7) 
  1. David Niven (6) 
  1. David Hasselhoff (6) 
  1. Dave Chappelle (6

Congratulations to Chris of Gambier for guessing the top two answers correctly and taking home TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in Tomorrow for Artist Newsday and Gamete Tuesday with Ethan and Joe!

Thanks so much for listening!

– Joe and Gabriella 🙂

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The NZ Top 10 for 2/6/2026

We’re already in the month of February! This week’s NZ Top 10 we saw a new song take the spot of #1 after Jamie MacDonald’s 9-week streak throughout the start of the year.

Here is this week’s countdown:

10. Josiah Queen – Dusty Bibles

09. Anne Wilson – God Story

08. For KING & COUNTRY ft. Taylor Hill – World On Fire

07. Crowder – STILL

06. Chris Tomlin – How Good It Is

05. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind

04. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

03. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

02. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (previously #1 for 9 weeks)

01. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors (previously #2 for 7 weeks)

New Music This Week:

Tasha Layton – Meet Me In The Valley

Andrew Ripp – I’d Do It Again

The Super Bowl is taking place this Sunday! We hope you’re excited to see the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks. We know Natalie Grant is! She is a loyal super fan of the Seahawks, and she’ll be cheering on her team this Sunday.

Did you know Natalie Grant sang the National Anthem at a Seahawks game a few years ago? You can watch her performance HERE!

Don’t forget! WNZR is continuing our Spread the Love Valentine’s Giveaway next week!

Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box.
During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697).

Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize.

You can learn more about this contest on our website HERE!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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New Dynamic Duo on The Afternoon Drive?!

Today on Praise Thursday we introduced a new co-host that will be with us for the 4 o’clock hour every Thursday, Brook Abella! Here’s what we talked about:

Brook Abella’s Devotional: Let God’s word wash over you! Spend some time to accept God’s light and let it shine on you, so you can point it in the direction of others! You should TRY to be like God!

Gabriella’s Devotional: Who is our neighbor? EVERYONE!! We should be a kind soul to everyone we come across and show them how a Christian should be. To read more click HERE!

Joe’s Devotional: Be a listener! In order to have a conversation you should should be just as good as listening as you do talking. Listen to the words that are spoke around and to you, so you can fully understand who people are. People should only be speaking the truth, but it’s up to you to fact check it. No one else. YOU!

You could win a fabulous prize from February 2nd through 12th! Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box. During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697). Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize. Congratulations to Tim of Mansfield for winning a $10 gift card to Burrata Woodfired and getting registered to be in the grand prize drawing!

This Week’s Name That Tune was “Testify” by NEEDTOBREATHE. Congratulations to Jessica of Mount Vernon guessing correctly and taking home a $5 gift card to Watt’s Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in Tomorrow to The NZ Top 10 with Ethan and Joe!

Thanks so much for listening!

– Gabriella, Brook Abella, and Joe 🙂

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Sweater Weather!!

WHO KNEW FACT CHECK-  National Homemade Soup Day 

WHO KNEW FACT CHECK-  Thank a Mail Carrier Day 

WHO KNEW FACT CHECK-  National Sweater Day 

You could win a fabulous prize from February 2nd through 12th! Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box. During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697). Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize. Congratulations to Krista Hottinger for winning a $10 gift card to Burrata Woodfired and to Brody for winning a “pick 2 voucher” to Panera!

Who am I? 

  1. I was born today, January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
  1. I started my acting career at a young age in the early 1990s, with notable roles, like Mike in Radio Flyer and Mark Evans in The Good Son. 
  1. My most famous role is for playing Frodo in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 
  1. I am also a voice actor, most notably voicing Mumble in Happy Feet and Spyro in The Legend of Spyro video game series. 
  1. I co-founded the production company SpectreVision, which focusses on independent and genre films. 

I am… Elijah Wood! Congratulations to April of Mount Gilead. for guessing correctly and taking home TWO $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in Tomorrow for Praise Thursday with Brookabella and Gabriella!

– Joe and Gabriella 🙂

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Brandon Lake, CeCe Winans, and Jelly Roll at the GRAMMY Awards!!

The 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards took place last Sunday, and a couple of your WNZR artists took one home this past weekend!

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: Brandon Lake + Jelly Roll – Hard Fought Hallelujah

Brandon Lake had the honor of receiving his sixth GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, with his song Hard Fought Hallelujah. Once again, instead of taking the glory for himself, he gives it all back to Jesus, stating, “If it wasn’t for Jesus, I don’t know where I would be, y’all.”

Read more about what Brandon Lake said HERE!

Best Gospel Performance/Song Winner: CeCe Winans featuring Shirley Ceasar – Come Jesus Come

CeCe Winans does it again, taking home her 18th GRAMMY Award for Best Gospel Performance/Song with Come Jesus Come featuring Shirley Ceasar.

Read more about CeCe Winans’ award winnings HERE!

Best Contemporary Country Album: Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken

Jelly Roll, heard on Brandon Lake’s Hard Fought Hallelujah, took home his third GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Country Album, Beautifully Broken.

What’s beautiful is when Jelly Roll accepted this award, he gave ALL the glory to Jesus! You can see his passion during this speech, stating, “Jesus is for EVERYBODY!”

Read more about Jelly Roll at the GRAMMY Awards HERE!

We had a double stumper from last week! These Song Poetry lyrics are worth three $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

And I don’t need to see it to believe it
For my whole life, You’ve been that all I’ve needed
And I, I’ve felt You in the fire and the rain

These Song Poetry lyrics were from Whisper and the Wind by bodie!

Congratulations to Erica from Howard for figuring out this three-week stumper, and correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home three $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

We’ll see you on Wednesday for a game of Who Am I? and Who Knew? fun facts for Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Find Purpose in Solitude!!

On this Monday Motivation we shared scripture to keep you moving! Plus we had our Mystery Monday, Family Feud question AND we started Spread The Love Giveaway! Here’s what we talked about:

Always remember when you’re lost, God is with you. You are never truly alone and you are actively being sought by God. If you can’t hear his voice speaking with you, find peace in solitude. There is a purpose in solitude and if you have struggles quieting the noise do a five minute prep to get ready for solitude. Always remember there is direction in solitude and God always has a plan for YOU!

Are we listening to God, THE CREATURE’S words or are we listening to false truths? The bible talks about communication many times and there is a war between grace and deceit. We have to look into the words we trust because some words are hallow truths and aren’t God’s truth. Grace wins every time. Words carry a powerful tune and direction. It is vital we fully listen to words so we can hear exactly what is being said. God wants to enlighten us, but the devil wants to deceive us. More importantly are we speaking the truth or are our opinions taking over? Listen to God’s word to get the full story and redirect your focus.

You could win a fabulous prize from February 2nd through 12th! Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box. During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697). Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize. Congratulations to Jeffery of Utica for taking home a $10 gift certificate to Dancing Bee Market and Studio in Mount Vernon and getting registered for our Grand Prize Drawing!

We had a stumper for this week’s Mystery Monday: Name a famous David.

Come back next week for a chance to win Two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in tomorrow for Artist Newsday and Game Time Tuesday with Ethan and Xander!

Thanks so much for listening!

– Joe and Gabriella 🙂

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The NZ Top 10 for 1/30/2026

It’s the last NZ Top 10 countdown for the month of January! Here is this week’s countdown:

10. Leanna Crawford – Honest

09. Anne Wilson – God Story

08. For KING & COUNTRY ft. Taylor Hill – World On Fire

07. Chris Tomlin – How Good It Is

06. Crowder – STILL

05. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind

04. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now

03. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah

02. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors (7th week at #2)

01. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (9th week at #1)

New Music This Week:

Matthew West – Good

We The Kingdom – Rescue Me

Don’t forget! Starting this Monday on The Morning Thing, we are starting our Spread the Love Valentine’s Giveaway!

Each day of the contest, our DJs will select Valentine’s gifts to put in the WNZR Valentine’s box.  
During The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive, the DJs will give a cue to call 740-397-WNZR (9697).  

Caller #5 gets the chance to answer a Valentine’s question to win a prize.

You can learn more about this contest on our website HERE!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

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Be God’s Walking Church!!

Today on Praise Thursday we went through devotionals and gave important updates. Here’s what we talked about:

Having a terrible memory is frustrating, but it is a chance to rely on God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s help to recall what matters most. While you may forget daily details or past sins, God promises to “remember them no more” (Hebrews 8:12), encouraging you to focus on the present “new thing” He is doing (Isaiah 43:18-19). Use the Holy Spirit as your memory, a “bad memory” can be a blessing, focus on the present, exercise and routine: treat your memory like a muscle, improving it through consistent, daily study of scripture, replacing, not just forgetting.

We often use the word “hope” as wishful thinking—a desire for things to go a certain way, with no guarantee they will. But the hope that Scripture offers is something far greater. As believers, our hope is alive. It’s grounded in the unshakable reality of Jesus Christ, who defeated death and rose from the grave. Living with biblical hope requires shifting our perspective. Instead of hoping for specific outcomes, we trust God’s sovereign wisdom. We know He works all things according to His perfect will. Our hope is grounded in God’s promises, not in possibilities or probabilities

Knox County is NO longer under any snow emergency.

Coshocton is under a level 1 snow emergency

Announcements for Thursday 1/29/26 (updated at 3:30pm on Thursday 1/29/26):

The Weather Vane Women’s Clothing Boutique will reopen on Thursday 2/5. They are currently closed due to a heating issue.

The Community meeting at the Danville Community Center is cancelled for tonight. This public meeting to share ideas for the Village has been rescheduled to February 26.

1 hour delays: Centerburg

2 hour delays:

– Danville

– Fredericktown

– Knox County Community Center

– Mount Vernon

Closed:

– Johnstown Monroe

– Mount Gilead

​

Our Name That Tune was Danny Gokey with “I Got You!” Congratulations to Ryan of Mount Vernon for taking home TWO $5 to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in Tomorrow with Ethan and Joe for the NZ Top 10!

Thanks so much for listening!

– Joe and Gabriella 🙂

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Crowder, Jamie MacDonald, and For KING & COUNTRY On This Week’s Artist News Day!

We covered a lot for Artist News Day on The Afternoon Drive today! Here is this week’s artist news:

Crowder announced his LIVE! concert, and he’s bringing his friends Seph Schlueter and Patrick Mayberry along with him!

You can catch them in Akron Ohio this spring on Sunday, May 3!

You can find ticket information here!

Jamie MacDonald debuted her first, self-titled album last Friday!

This record includes your favorite #1 hits from Jamie, including Desperate and Left It In The River, and has many new ones you’re sure to love. With raw honesty, worship, and humble vulnerability, this album is sure to touch your heart in more ways than one!

Learn more about Jamie MacDonald’s new album here!

Last week, the Ohio State Fair announced For KING & Country as a part of their concert lineup this summer!

The Australian brother duo will stop by the state fair on August 3rd, and will be seen in the Ohio State Fair’s Celeste Center! You can find more information about For KING & COUNTRY on our website here!

Tickets can be purchased online here!

We had a stumper from last week! These Song Poetry lyrics are worth two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

And I don’t need to see it to believe it
For my whole life, You’ve been that all I’ve needed
And I, I’ve felt You in the fire and the rain

This week’s Song Poetry was, once again, a stumper! If you think you know the song title and artist these lyrics are from, tune in next week for a chance to potentially win three $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

On Wednesday, there will be a shortened version of The Afternoon Drive. The show will end at 4:40 to start the MVNU Cougars Women’s Basketball . We’ll see you here at 4pm for a condensed Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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