KUER-FM

KUER-FM
Broadcast areaWasatch Front
Frequency90.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingKUER 90.1, NPR Utah
Programming
FormatPublic radio
Subchannels
AffiliationsNPR
Ownership
OwnerUniversity of Utah
History
First air date
June 5, 1960; 64 years ago (1960-06-05)
Call sign meaning
"Utah Education Radio"[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID69171
ClassC
ERP21,000 watts
HAAT1,244 meters (4,081 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°39′34.8″N 112°12′7.8″W / 40.659667°N 112.202167°W / 40.659667; -112.202167
Translator(s)See § Repeaters
Repeater(s)See § Repeaters
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitekuer.org

KUER-FM (90.1 MHz) is a public radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Owned by the University of Utah, its studios are located in the Eccles Broadcast Center on the University of Utah campus, while its main transmitter is located on Farnsworth Peak; an extensive transmitter network rebroadcasts its signal across Utah. KUER-FM features programming from NPR and other public radio distributors as well as local news coverage for Utah.

KUER-FM began broadcasting on June 5, 1960, as an educational station emphasizing classical music. It became a regional service in 1962 when its transmitter was moved to Mount Vision in the Oquirrh Mountains. After two financial crises that almost forced the station off the air, KUER evolved substantially in the 1970s and 1980s with the creation of NPR, a shift to a hybrid format of daytime classical and nighttime jazz music, each featuring long-tenured personalities. In 1993, it moved out of cramped quarters in historic Kingsbury Hall and into the new Eccles Broadcast Center.

Over the course of the 1990s, KUER-FM's program offerings came under threat from new competition: classical music listeners were defecting to KBYU-FM, while the new KCPW provided a challenge to KUER's NPR talk offerings. In response to falling ratings, classical music was removed from the schedule in 2001—triggering listener outcry but not a significant decline in donations. At the same time, the station created RadioWest, a local and regional news discussion program focusing on Utah and the Western United States. The remaining music, nightly jazz, was removed from KUER's lineup in 2015.

  1. ^ "Kuer 90.1". Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KUER-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.