KAUR
Encyclopedia
KAUR is a radio station
that broadcast a variety
format until 2009 and which now broadcasts Minnesota Public Radio news. Licensed to Augustana College
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, USA, the station serves the greater Sioux Falls area and can reliably broadcast up to approximately 30 miles in any direction. The station is currently owned by Augustana College
and operated by Minnesota Public Radio
.
and also broadcast regular Alternative
, Blues
/Jazz
, Folk
, Spanish Traditional, Hip-Hop, and Hardcore
/Metal shows. KAUR was founded in 1972 and Augustana College also once managed a self-constructed AM station, which, itself, was founded in 1945.
By 2009, KAUR had begun to experience a number of problems. Amongst the most troublesome of KAUR's woes was a major staffing issue. Owing to a lack of official support, and a decrease in student interest in traditional media, KAUR spent its last year as a student-run station under the direction of only six students during the first semester and five throughout the second, spring semester. Although understaffed, the station continued to develop new ideas for operating in the "new media" era. Plans had been made to begin streaming the station over the internet or to regularly "podcast" student shows by offering down-loadable content on the, now inaccessible, student website. Other plans in development early in the spring of 2009 included adding broadcasts of the Augustana College men's baseball team to the station's sports programming which already featured women's basketball.
In the spring of 2009, administrators at Augustana College decided to discontinue KAUR's student operations in favor of broadcasting Minnesota Public Radio
News (in lieu of alternative suggestions). The station left the air for a week before returning on September 15, 2009, with the new MPR format. Augustana College continues to own the station while MPR provides programming, maintenance, and funding for the regular operation of the station. The students assigned to operate KAUR for the 2009-2010 academic year, as part of the federal work-study program, were forcibly reassigned to other departments. The college had also received proposals from a number of other parties, including religious and ethnic interests, as well as a non-profit proposal which would have continued the student-run scheme.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
that broadcast a variety
Variety (radio)
The term variety as a radio format is loosely defined as a format that plays music across numerous genera.Freeform variety is associated with a wide range of programming including talk, sports, and music from a wide spectrum. This format is usually found on smaller, non-commercial...
format until 2009 and which now broadcasts Minnesota Public Radio news. Licensed to Augustana College
Augustana College (South Dakota)
Augustana College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The campus makes the school the largest private university in South Dakota...
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, USA, the station serves the greater Sioux Falls area and can reliably broadcast up to approximately 30 miles in any direction. The station is currently owned by Augustana College
Augustana College (South Dakota)
Augustana College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The campus makes the school the largest private university in South Dakota...
and operated by Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
.
History
Up until 2009, KAUR specialized in independent or college rockCollege rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
and also broadcast regular Alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
/Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, Spanish Traditional, Hip-Hop, and Hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
/Metal shows. KAUR was founded in 1972 and Augustana College also once managed a self-constructed AM station, which, itself, was founded in 1945.
By 2009, KAUR had begun to experience a number of problems. Amongst the most troublesome of KAUR's woes was a major staffing issue. Owing to a lack of official support, and a decrease in student interest in traditional media, KAUR spent its last year as a student-run station under the direction of only six students during the first semester and five throughout the second, spring semester. Although understaffed, the station continued to develop new ideas for operating in the "new media" era. Plans had been made to begin streaming the station over the internet or to regularly "podcast" student shows by offering down-loadable content on the, now inaccessible, student website. Other plans in development early in the spring of 2009 included adding broadcasts of the Augustana College men's baseball team to the station's sports programming which already featured women's basketball.
In the spring of 2009, administrators at Augustana College decided to discontinue KAUR's student operations in favor of broadcasting Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
News (in lieu of alternative suggestions). The station left the air for a week before returning on September 15, 2009, with the new MPR format. Augustana College continues to own the station while MPR provides programming, maintenance, and funding for the regular operation of the station. The students assigned to operate KAUR for the 2009-2010 academic year, as part of the federal work-study program, were forcibly reassigned to other departments. The college had also received proposals from a number of other parties, including religious and ethnic interests, as well as a non-profit proposal which would have continued the student-run scheme.