# KUNR

KUNR (88.7 FM) and KNCC (91.5 FM) are non-commercial, listener-supported public radio stations. KUNR is licensed to Reno, Nevada, and KNCC is licensed to Elko, Nevada. Owned and operated by the University of Nevada, Reno, they simulcast a news and information radio format and are members of National Public Radio (NPR). The studios and offices are on North Virginia Street in Reno, on the university campus.
KUNR is a Class C0 station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 20,000 watts. The transmitter is on Sunil Pandit Road in Carson City, amid the towers for other FM and TV stations in the Reno media market. KNCC is a Class A station with an ERP of 54 watts. Its transmitter is atop Elko Mountain. Programming is also heard on numerous FM translators around Nevada and Northern California.

## Programming

KUNR and KNCC mostly air programs from NPR and other public radio networks, with local Nevada news updates. The weekday schedule includes Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, Here and Now, 1A, Think, The World and Marketplace. The BBC World Service runs overnight.
On weekends and weekday evenings, KUNR and KNCC carry one-hour specialty shows from NPR and other public radio networks, including This American Life, Reveal, The Ezra Klein Show, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Milk Street Radio, The Moth Radio Hour, Snap Judgment, A Way with Words, Travel with Rick Steves, Freakonomics Radio, Latino USA, Radio Lab and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.
On weekend evenings, several music shows are heard, including American Routes from the Public Radio Exchange, as well as two shows produced by KUNR: The Risky Biscuit Hayseed Hoot with Dondo Harue and Jimbo's Juke Joint and Roadhouse Cafe with Jim Burke. Both shows play Americana, Folk, Bluegrass music and other genres with a touch of humor.

## History

KUNR signed on the air on October 7, 1963; 61 years ago (October 7, 1963). It originally broadcast on 88.1 MHz and was powered at only 10 watts, a fraction of its current output. The station could only be heard on campus and adjacent neighborhoods. It was a college radio station, with students hosting most of the shows. Dr. Donald G. Potter, the director of the university's audio-video center, headed the radio station.
It later moved up the dial to 88.7 MHz, increasing its power and relocating its tower to a high peak between Reno and Carson City. With the increase in coverage area, the university decided to change the station's direction. It became a public radio station, airing news, information and classical music. It joined NPR in 1981, adding the network's news shows to its schedule.
In 1992, KNCC signed on the air. It began simulcasting KUNR's programming in the Elko area of Nevada. A network of translators was also added around Nevada and Northern California so KUNR could be heard in those small communities.
In 2016, the university acquired a non-commercial FM station at 89.5 MHz. That station became KNCJ, where the classical music and jazz programming moved. That allowed KUNR to go all news, talk and information, except for a few weekend shows.
KUNR's signal is also heard in Carson City and around Lake Tahoe. The region is also served by another NPR member station, KKTO 90.5 FM in Tahoe City, which simulcasts the news and information programming of KXJZ Sacramento.

## Translators

KUNR operates about a dozen translators across Nevada and Northern California.
In addition, KNCC has a translator, K263AB (100.5 FM) in Battle Mountain, Nevada. One translator, K215DN (101.5 FM) in Crescent Valley, Nevada, was shut down.