Except for the 1922 station that is now KWSU and the University of Idaho station (KUID) that became KRFA in 1984, these new coverage projects (including the 1994 KRFA power upgrade) have been funded through a combination of community donations and federal assistance from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program.  Community leadership from individuals, foundations and commercial businesses has been crucial to extending public radio services throughout the Northwest Public Radio coverage area.

1922

KWSU-AM 1250:  The original station in our network and among the first radio stations in the country, KWSU signed on as KFAE December 10, 1922, and later spent many decades as KWSC.  For the first half of its long life, most radio listening was at night and there was little interference, so KFAE/KWSC served most of the Northwest.  Famed broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow first used a microphone at the station in the late 1920s as did sportscaster Keith Jackson in the 1950s and ABC journalist Barry Serafin in the 1960s.  Today, KWSU serves the Palouse and Clearwater Valley area of southeastern Washington and northern Idaho . Studios are in Pullman in the Murrow Communication Center of Washington State University.

1982

KFAE-FM 89.1:  KFAE has served the Tri-Cities, central Washington and northeastern Oregon since June, 1982.  Northwest Public Radio has staff and studios in Richland on the WSU Tri-Cities campus.

1983

Multiple Translators:  Eight translators were added in Ellensburg, Goldendale/The Dalles, Yakima , Lewiston/Clarkston, Ephrata/Soap Lake, Wenatchee , Cashmere/Dryden, and Chelan/Waterville.

1984

KRFA-FM 91.7:  In June, 1984, KRFA joined Northwest Public Radio in a cooperative arrangement between the University of Idaho in Moscow and Washington State University .  Northwest Public Radio increased KRFA’s power tenfold in 1994.

1992

KNWR-FM 90.7:  KNWR signed on in June, 1992, serving Ellensburg, Wenatchee , Moses Lake and surrounding areas.

New Tri-Cities Studios:  A challenge grant from the Battelle Memorial Institute generated support from other Tri-Cities businesses and individuals to build a studio in Richland .  The companies that supported the studio construction through the Fund for Excellence were:  Battelle Memorial Institute, IT Analytical, Kadlec Medical Center , Robert Young and Associates, Siemens Power Corporation, United Engineers and Constructors, Hanford Environmental Health Foundation.   

1993

KNWY-FM 90.3:  Building on the support of translator listeners in the Yakima Valley , Northwest Public put KNWY on the air on February 20, 1993.

1994

KNWO-FM 90.1:  KNWO went on the air in January, 1994, serving the Camas Prairie, Cottonwood and Grangeville.

Kamiah/Kooskia Translator-FM 102.7:  Northwest Public Radio built a translator to serve the Idaho towns of Kooskia and Kamiah.  This translator went on the air in July, 1994.  

Orofino Translator-FM 102.3:  Northwest Public Radio put a translator on the air in Orofino, Idaho, in July, 1994.

KRFA Transmitter Replacement and Power Increase:  Northwest Public Radio increased the power of KRFA Moscow from 1,450 watts to 14,500 watts.  This project, completed in the fall of 1994, improved the coverage area and the quality of the signal.

1995

KNWV-FM 90.5: Northwest Public Radio put KNWV on the air in 1995 to serve the Lewiston/Clarkston Valley.  This station replaced the low-power translator that served the L/C Valley for about 12 years.

Pullman Studio Upgrade:  Washington State University provided funds to upgrade our main studios.  These funds enabled Northwest Public Radio to rewire its studios, replace 25 year old carpeting, curtains and consoles, and upgrade analog studio and production equipment to digital.

1997

KZAZ-FM 91.7: On January 6, 1997, Bellingham ’s independent public radio station, KZAZ, merged with Northwest Public Radio to become Northwest Public Radio’s first station west of the Cascade Mountains.  KZAZ went on the air in 1992 through the efforts of people in Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan Counties .

KWWS-FM 89.7:  KWWS signed on March 6, 1997, providing a second NWPR service to the Walla Walla and Tri-Cities area.

KLWS-FM 91.5:    Serving Moses Lake, Ephrata and Grant County , KLWS signed on April 10, 1997.  The "L" in KWLS stands for Paul Lauzier, an Ephrata rancher who died in 1995.  The Paul Lauzier Charitable Foundation made a $50,000 contribution to Northwest Public Radio to put KLWS on the air.

1998

KNWP-FM 90.1:  This station went on the air in April of 1998 and serves

Port Angeles , Sequim and other communities along the Highway 112 corridor.  In addition, KNWP reaches Victoria, British Columbia, and much of lower Vancouver Island.

1999

KQWS-FM 90.1:  KQWS in Omak went on the air in January, 1999, and serves the Okanogan region of Washington and British Columbia .

2000

New Pullman/Moscow Translator-FM 89.9:  This translator serves the Pullman/Moscow area at 89.9 FM.  It's the same service heard on KWSU-AM (1250).  However, while KWSU is required to sign off from midnight to 6:00 AM, the translator broadcasts 24 hours a day.

2002
Ellensburg Translator-FM 89.9:  This translator began broadcasting on August 28, 2002.

KMWS-FM 90.1:  Northwest Public Radio acquired KMWS from Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon in November of 2002.  The “M” in KMWS honors Edward R. Murrow, who grew up in Skagit County and is an alumnus of Washington State University .    

Digital Studio Upgrade:  We completed a major digital upgrade to our Pullman studios, including the replacement of 20-year-old analog audio consoles.

2005
Forks Translator-FM 92.3: Northwest Public Radio provided the Olympic Peninsula community of Forks with its first public radio service in the fall of 2005.  This new translator originally broadcast at 92.3.  An application was filed to change the frequency to 91.7.

Wenatchee Translator-FM 90.3: Another new translator (90.3) provided Wenatchee with our NPR News service.

2006
Forks Frequency Change: With approval from the FCC, the frequency of the Forks translator was changed from 92.3 to 91.7.

HD Radio in Yakima: Late in 2006, Northwest Public Radio converted KNWY, Yakima, to HD, the first Washington radio station east of the Cascades to complete this digital conversion.

2007
KWSU-AM (1250), Pullman, Converted to HD:  KWSU became one of the first AM stations in Washington to convert to this new technology.

KMWS-FM 89.7 Upgraded:  KMWS, Mount Vernon/Burlington, was upgraded to better cover Skagit County.  The transmitter site was move to a new and higher location on Butler Hill near Sedro Woolley.  The transmitter power was boosted from 100 watts to 1,500 watts, and the frequency changed from 90.1 to 89.7.  This upgrade also gave KMWS HD capabilities.

2008

More HD Conversions:  KLWS-FM (91.5), Moses Lake/Ephrata, and KFAE-FM (89.1), Tri-Cities, were both converted to HD.

  KWSU & KTNW Public Television Overview:

Public Television station, KWSU-TV Channel 10 is licensed to Washington State University (WSU), a comprehensive land grant university located in Pullman, Washington. WSU has been involved in broadcasting since 1908. The KWSU-TV studio is located on the WSU campus in Pullman and its transmitter is located on Kamiak Butte, ten miles north of Pullman. KWSU-TV offers a selective mix of PBS programming and other educational programs providing an alternative service to Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho viewers. KWSU & KTNW are managed by the Educational & Public Media.

Public Television Station KTNW, Channel 31, Richland, Washington is licensed to Washington State University. The studio is located on the WSU Tri-Cities campus in Richland, Washington and its transmitter is located on Jump Off Joe Butte, seven miles south of Kennewick, Washington. KTNW provides a full-service Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program schedule to residents of the Columbia Basin region.

Translator station, K15CH, rebroadcasts KWSU-TV to the communities of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington, and translator station, K05JG, rebroadcasts KTNW to the communities of Vantage and Beverly, Washington. Both stations are carried on numerous cable systems.

KWSU/KTNW provides the Create Channel programming on cable educational access channels in Pullman (Channel 8) and the Tri-Cities (Channel 12).

KWSU & KTNW Public Television History:

KWSU-TV is among the oldest broadcast stations of its kind, having begun operation in 1962. Instructional television began as part of the WSU Libraries in 1967 and was moved to KWSU Radio-Television Services, now Educational Telecommunications and Technology, creating a complete audio/video telecommunications department. The potential television audience of KTNW doubled when WSU added KTNW Channel 31 to its license in October, 1987. KTNW in the Tri-Cities was established by local community support matched by a US Department of Commerce equipment grant. The services now known as KWSU & KTNW provide a regional source of information, arts, culture and public affairs programming to enhance the quality of life in the communities served.   

KWSU Media is the production division for KWSU and KTNW public television.  The main production studio is located on the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington.  KWSU Media also has production facilities located in Richland, Washington.  

In January of 2008 KWSU Media will open it newly renovated High Definition (HD) facility in Pullman .  This state of the art three camera facility will be used to produce local programs for KWSU and KTNW.  KWSU Media also utilizes two HD field production video systems for remote production.  An Avid HD editing suite will support post production work for both the studio and field production units.  The second digital editing suite incorporates a Lightworks editing system for additional production capacity.

Local programs produced by KWSU Media include:

• On Campus @ WSU
• Just A Minute
• Experience WSU
• World War II: Our Neighbors' Stories
• Lewis and Clark and The Forgotten Trail
• The Kennewick Man on Trial
• Palouse Performance

 KWSU Media also produces programs and series for national public television distribution.  Currently 7 series are in national distribution, to include:

• Fly Tying: The Anglers Art
• Dutch Oven and Camp Cooking
• Scheewe Art Workshop
• Jenkins Art Workshop
• Jenkins Art Studio
• Sid Webb’s Digital Studio
• Painting the West with Fred Oldfield

For further information on these local and national productions please visit our production web site.