Wyoming Public Radio

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Template other 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 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

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	State	Facility ID	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class	Transmitter coordinates
Template:Rh | KUWA	91.3 FMTemplate:Efn	Afton	Wyoming	Template:FID	400		A
Template:Rh | KBUW	90.5 FMTemplate:Efn	Buffalo	Wyoming	Template:FID	430		A
Template:Rh | KUWC	91.3 FMTemplate:Efn	Casper	Wyoming	Template:FID	530		C3
Template:Rh | KDUW	91.7 FM	Douglas	Wyoming	Template:FID	450		A
Template:Rh | KUWE	89.7 FM	Evanston	Wyoming	Template:FID	2,000		C2
Template:Rh | KUWW	90.9 FM	Fort Washakie	Wyoming	Template:FID	8,000		C3
Template:Rh | KUWG	90.9 FMTemplate:Efn	Gillette	Wyoming	Template:FID	450		A
Template:Rh | KUWJ	90.3 FMTemplate:Efn	Jackson	Wyoming	Template:FID	3,000		C2
Template:Rh | KUWK	88.7 FM	Kaycee	Wyoming	Template:FID	1,600		A
Template:Rh | KUWRTemplate:Efn	91.9 FMTemplate:Efn	Laramie	Wyoming	Template:FID	100,000		C0
Template:Rh | KUWV	90.7 FM	Lingle	Wyoming	Template:FID	14,000		C3
Template:Rh | KUWN	90.5 FMTemplate:Efn	Newcastle	Wyoming	Template:FID	400		A
Template:Rh | KUWX	90.9 FMTemplate:Efn	Pinedale	Wyoming	Template:FID	450		A
Template:Rh | KUWP	90.1 FMTemplate:Efn	Powell	Wyoming	Template:FID	430		C3
Template:Rh | KUWI	89.9 FM	Rawlins	Wyoming	Template:FID	2,000		C3
Template:Rh | KUWZ	90.5 FMTemplate:Efn	Rock Springs	Wyoming	Template:FID	35,000		C0
Template:Rh | KAIW	88.9 FM	Saratoga	Wyoming	Template:FID	580		C2
Template:Rh | KSUW	91.3 FMTemplate:Efn	Sheridan	Wyoming	Template:FID	20,000		C1
Template:Rh | KUWD	91.5 FMTemplate:Efn	Sundance	Wyoming	Template:FID	430		C3
Template:Rh | KUWT	91.3 FMTemplate:Efn	Thermopolis	Wyoming	Template:FID	2,000		C2
Template:Rh | KEUW	89.9 FM	Torrington	Wyoming	Template:FID	6,000		A

Notes

Broadcast translators

Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	State	Facility ID	Rebroadcasts
Template:Rh | K219LW	91.7	Driggs	Idaho	Template:FID	KUWR
Template:Rh | K217BP	91.3	Dubois	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWR
Template:Rh | K298CH	107.5	Mountain View	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWZ
Template:Rh | K206AJ	89.1	Sinclair	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWR
Template:Rh | K298AY	107.5	Wheatland	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWR
Template:Rh | K227BB	93.3	Worland	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWT

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.

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	State	Facility ID	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class	Transmitter coordinates
Template:Rh | KNWT	89.1 FM	Cody	Wyoming	Template:FID	16,500		C1
Template:Rh | KTWY	97.1 FM	Shoshoni	Wyoming	Template:FID	2,200		C1
Template:Rh | KXWY	103.1 FM	Hudson	Wyoming	Template:FID	30,000		C2

Broadcast translators of Wyoming Sounds

Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	State	Facility ID
Template:Rh | K247BC	97.3	Jackson	Wyoming	Template:FID
Template:Rh | K278CM	103.5	Laramie	Wyoming	Template:FID
Template:Rh | K206AJ	89.1	Sinclair	Wyoming	Template:FID
Template:Rh | K208FY	89.5	Torrington	Wyoming	Template:FID
Template:Rh | K231BW	94.1	Worland	Wyoming	Template:FID

Classical Wyoming

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

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	State	Facility ID	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class	Transmitter coordinates
Template:Rh | KUWY	88.5 FM	Laramie	Wyoming	Template:FID	135		A
Template:Rh | KZUW	88.5 FM	Reliance	Wyoming	Template:FID	260		A
Template:Rh | KWWY	106.5 FM	Shoshoni	Wyoming	Template:FID	2,200		C1

Broadcast translators of Classical Wyoming

Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	State	Facility ID	Rebroadcasts
Template:Rh | K240EK	95.9	Jackson	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWJ-HD2
Template:Rh | K220GP	91.9	Lander	Wyoming	Template:FID	KUWY

KUWL

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

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	State	Facility ID	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class	Transmitter coordinates
Template:Rh | KUWL	90.1 FM	Laramie	Wyoming	Template:FID	110		A

Broadcast translators of KUWL

Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	State	Facility ID
Template:Rh | K213EZ	90.5	Riverton	Wyoming	Template:FID

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

External links

• Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility
• Template:Show by date&band=fm&callLetter=KUWR KUWR in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• University of Wyoming
• Online Streaming - Main Service
• Online Streaming - Classical Wyoming
• Online Streaming - Jazz Wyoming