Misplaced Pages

Wyoming Public Radio

Laramie, Wyoming
Broadcast area	State of Wyoming
Frequency	See § Stations
Branding	Wyoming Public Radio
Programming
Format	Public radio
Affiliations	NPR, PRX, BBC
Ownership
Owner	University of Wyoming
History
First air date	September 14th, 1966
Call sign meaning	University of Wyoming Radio
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Class	See § Stations
ERP	See § Stations
HAAT	See § Stations
Translator(s)	See § Stations
Links
Public license information	Public Radio Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	wyomingpublicmedia.org

Wyoming Public Radio (WPR) is the statewide public radio network in Wyoming, and is licensed to the University of Wyoming.

Programming and operation

Although licensed to the university, the network does not produce student-derived programming. Twice a year, in the fall and in the spring, the station conducts pledge drives, which is where a majority of its budget comes from. From the UW campus in Laramie, the network produces local news and music programming, mostly consisting of jazz, classical and adult album alternative music. The network also airs a variety of syndicated programs from National Public Radio, Public Radio Exchange, Native Voice One, and American Public Media. Some NPR, PRX, and BBC World Service programming includes Morning Edition, All Things Considered, BBC World Service, and many others.

Wyoming Public Radio also produces Classical Wyoming, a 24-hour classical format. It is available as an analog radio service in Laramie, Rock Springs, and Lander. It is also available on HD-2 throughout the state. WPR is the only public radio network produced in Wyoming. Other public radio networks and stations (including Yellowstone Public Radio, KUER-FM, KUNC, and KUVO) also reach into parts of the state.

History

Wyoming Public Radio was founded in 1966, and the station's format is similar to that of many other American public radio stations. The station can trace its roots back to KFBU, Wyoming's first radio station, which broadcast from St. Matthew's Cathedral in Laramie. KFBU was put on air by Warner N. Crosby, an engineering student at the University of Wyoming. He held a second-grade commercial license for radio, which, at the time, was required to broadcast. The station went on air with 10 watts on October 3, 1922. In 1923, the station was upgraded to 25 watts and more power later on. The station had a turbulent history but was often received at far distances. The equipment was donated to the university in 1929. On September 28, 1938, broadcasts from the university were picked up via wire to be aired across the NBC Radio Network. In 1957, the University's Engineering Department began "University Radio." On January 1, 1965, KTWO, Wyoming's oldest commercial radio station, donated a board to the university to use for on air broadcasts. The station's first affiliate, KUWR, received its license in 1966 and went on air for the fall semester. KUWR-FM broadcast from the student union. In 1966, then University President John King encouraged the station to be used for sports broadcasts. KUWR was Wyoming's second FM radio station, and was initially 10 watts, on 91.5 MHz. The station moved to 91.9 and increased power to 50,000 watts in April of 1977. It was at that time that the studios were moved to Knight Hall where they remain today.

In the late 1970s, KUWR began to pick up programming from National Public Radio, including All Things Considered. In the 1980s, network staples like Morning Edition and A Prairie Home Companion were added to the lineup. In the mid-1980s, translators of KUWR were put on air in Casper, and Aspen, Colorado. Demand for the radio network began to grow statewide, along with construction permits for new stations. KUWR's translator in Casper was limited to 10 watts, and the signal was unreliable due to wind issues. It was thought that a state-wide network could be built in 10 years.

Wyoming Public Radio has continued to add stations to improve coverage throughout the state.

In September 2016, Wyoming Public Radio launched a fourth radio service named Wyoming Sounds. Wyoming Sounds is a rock-based format with emphasis on singer-songwriters and a wide variety of styles, including acoustic, folk, blues, soul, reggae, world, and Americana music. It is carried as an analog radio service in Laramie, Torrington, Lander, Riverton, and Worland. It is also available on HD-3 channels throughout the state. Its website is wyomingsounds.org.

The network celebrated its 55th year of broadcasting in 2021 with a slideshow of where the network started and how it grew.

Stations

Notes

1. ^ Transmits in HD Radio, and has station name of WPR -FM
2. Flagship station

Wyoming Sounds

Wyoming Public Media operates an adult album alternative network branded Wyoming Sounds.

Two of the transmitters in this network, KTWY and KXWY, were previously commercial licenses held by Cochise Broadcasting, which only broadcast periodically to maintain their licenses. In 2017, the FCC entered into a consent decree with Cochise by which it surrendered these stations, KWWY (in the Classical Wyoming network), and other stations for donation to other entities. KNWT operated independently from 2009 to 2017 as a service of Northwest College in Powell.

Classical Wyoming

Three stations air their own programming, consisting mostly of classical music:

KUWL

KUWL airs its own programming, consisting mostly of jazz music:

Some of the affiliates are broadcasting digitally via HD Radio, with a subchannel consisting of full-time classical music, mostly from the Classical 24 network.

See also

• Wyoming Public Television

References

1. "Annals of Wyoming" (PDF). Wyoming State Historical Society. 1971.
2. "University to go on air". Flickr.com. Lander Evening Post. August 24, 1938.
3. "Campus radio station to 'fill the air' this fall". The Summer Roundup. University of Wyoming. July 8, 1966.
4. "Record of Minutes of Board of Trustees Meeting September 22-24 1966" (PDF). University of Wyoming. September 24, 1966.
5. "KUWR First Airing September 14, 1966". Soundcloud.com. Wyoming Public Radio.
6. Tonya Pantle; Ruth Massingill (April 29, 1977). "Their time's air time". Campus Pulse. University of Wyoming. p. 3.
7. Perry Krohn (April 20, 1985). "Demand for public radio on the rise in state". Casper Star Tribune.
8. "55 Years Of Wyoming Public Radio". Wyoming Public Media. 2021.
9. Carey, Michelle M. (May 26, 2017). "In the Matter of Cochise Broadcasting LLC and Cochise Media Licenses LLC" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
10. Venta, Lance (May 30, 2017). "Cochise Broadcasting To Surrender 10 Licenses As Part Of Consent Decree". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
11. Wyoming HD Radio stations Archived March 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 69131 (KUWR) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KUWR in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• University of Wyoming
• Online Streaming - Main Service
• Online Streaming - Classical Wyoming
• Online Streaming - Jazz Wyoming

v t e Broadcast radio networks in the United States
National	ABC Audio Compass Premiere Salem United Stations Westwood One Uforia Audio Network Spanish
State	Georgia News Network Louisiana Radio Network Michigan Farm Radio Network Michigan Radio Network Michigan Talk Network North Carolina News Network Ohio News Network The Point Supertalk Mississippi Texas State Network WV Metro News
Specialty	AURN Bloomberg Radio CRN Digital Evolution Metropolitan Opera Music of Your Life Pride Radio Radio America Radio One Republic Broadcasting Network USA Radio Network WestStar TalkRadio Network WFMT Radio Network World Classical Network
Religious	3ABN Air1 AFR BBN BRN Calvary Covenant CSN International Effect ESNE EWTN Radio Family Life Network Family Life Radio Family Radio Fundamental Go Mix! GNN Gospel Opportunities Guadalupe K-Love King of Kings Radio The Life FM LifeTalk Mars Hill Moody Northwestern Pilgrim Radio 74 Radio Nueva Vida Real Presence Radio Rejoice Broadcast Network Relevant Radio RenewFM RevFM Salem Radio Network Smile FM Sounds of the Spirit Spirit FM VCY America WAY-FM Network Word FM Your Network of Praise
Sports	BetQL ESPN Fox Futbol de Primera Infinity Sports Byline USA Sports USA TUDN
News	ABC BIN CBS Fox NBC
Public radio	National APM NPR Pacifica PRX State Colorado Connecticut Georgia Hawaii Iowa Kentucky Maine Minnesota Mississippi Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire North Dakota Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Utah Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Regional Alabama Boise State CMU High Plains Indiana Interlochen Jefferson Michigan Public Montana New England New Jersey North Carolina North Country Northeast Northern Northwest Radio IQ Radio Kansas Red River Yellowstone
Defunct or moribund	ABC (original) Air America Amalgamated Broadcasting System America's Radio News American Network Arkansas Radio Network Biz Radio Network NBC Blue/Blue Network Children's radio networks Cumulus Media Networks Dial Global (Local/Waitt) Radio Disney Enterprise ESPN Deportes GCN God's Country I.E. America Jones K-Love Classics Liberty Broadcasting System Michigan Regional Mutual Mutual Reports Network/Mutual Black Network Mutual Progressive Network/Mutual Lifestyle Radio Mutual Spanish Network (Mutual Cadena Hispánica) NBC Red/NBC NBC Sports Radio NBC Talknet NBG Radio Network National Black Network National Negro Network Nova M National Radio Network PRI Progressive Broadcasting System Radio AAHS RKO Satellite Music Network Sports Fan Radio Network SportsMap Talk Radio Network The Source Transtar UPI Univision America Washington News Desk Westinghouse Westwood One (original) Westwood One News WOR WSJ Radio Yankee Network
Radio portal

• Wyoming Public Radio
• HD Radio stations
• NPR member networks
• American radio networks
• 1966 establishments in Wyoming
• Radio stations established in 1966