Interlochen Public Radio

Interlochen Public Radio, established in 1963, is a network of public radio stations in Northern Michigan. It broadcasts classical music and news on five stations in northwest lower Michigan. It is operated by the Interlochen Center for the Arts, with studios on the center's campus in Interlochen, Michigan; just outside Traverse City. It is an affiliate of National Public Radio and Public Radio International.
Since 2000, IPR has operated a two-channel network. Classical IPR (formerly known as "IPR Music Radio") provides classical music and hourly NPR news updates. The flagship station is WIAA (88.7 FM) in Interlochen. WIAA repeats its programming on WICV (100.9 FM) in East Jordan and WIAB (88.5 FM) in Mackinaw City. News and talk programming from NPR and other sources is heard on WICA (91.5 FM) in Traverse City, WHBP (90.1 FM) in Harbor Springs, and WLMN (89.7 FM) in Manistee, branded as IPR News Radio. Both IPR Music Radio and IPR News Radio are streamed on the Internet.
For most of the last quarter-century, IPR has been among the national leaders in per-capita listener support among NPR stations. This is no small feat, as it is one of the smallest members of the NPR system and the second-smallest NPR member in Michigan.
==Member Stations==
===WIAA===
WIAA is the flagship station of the IPR Music Radio network, and began broadcasting in 1963 at 88.3 FM. Interlochen Center founder Joe Maddy had long dreamed of bringing a fine arts station to Northern Michigan. It was a charter member of NPR.
By 1985, the station had moved to 88.7 FM and boosted its power to 100,000 watts. WIAA's signal covers a large portion of northwestern and west-central lower Michigan, from Big Rapids to Gaylord and beyond. 
Morning music host Dick Wallace, who retired in the spring of 2011, is a veteran of Detroit radio, having worked at now-defunct Detroit classical-music station WQRS (now WMGC-FM) for many years. He also hosted a show called "Pops Potpourri" on Saturday nights. 
Since WICA's sign-on in 2000, WIAA and its two satellites (WICV and WIAB) have devoted almost all of their broadcast schedule to classical music and do not air NPR news shows such as "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", although they do feature hourly news updates from NPR. NPR news shows are, however, available over a portion of IPR Music Radio's listening area on CMU Public Radio, and within the coverage areas of the IPR News Radio stations (see below).
WIAA programming is also heard in Manistee, Michigan, on translator station W273BO at 102.5 FM, which is owned by Radio Assist Ministry. WIAA also formerly operated a translator station in Traverse City, W264AC (100.7 FM), meant to fill in dead spots in the main signal's coverage in Traverse City; this translator went off the air in 2000.
===WIAB===
The original call sign for 88.5 FM's construction permit was WAAQ, but the station was never on the air with those calls. It signed on as WDQV, "88-Dot-5 Dove FM," airing a satellite-fed contemporary Christian music format from Salem Communications ("Today's Christian Music"). Interlochen purchased WDQV in March 2005, and after a brief period of silence, 88.5 FM became WIAB, simulcasting WIAA, in July. 
WIAB was formerly simulcast on a translator in Mackinaw City, W237CF (95.3 FM), which was formerly owned by Xavier University and then Cincinnati Classical Public Radio as a translator of WVXU 96.7 FM (now WRGZ) in Rogers City, Michigan. W237CF, now on 95.1 FM as W236BZ in St. Ignace, is now owned by Baraga Broadcasting and simulcasts Catholic radio station WTCK in Charlevoix.
===WICV===
WICV 100.9 FM began broadcasting in 1989 with the call sign WIZY.
===WICA===
WICA 91.5 FM began broadcasting on September 13, 2000. On a historical note, this call sign was used by a station in Northeastern Ohio until the mid seventies. At 4,000 watts, its signal does not have nearly the reach of WIAA, presumably to protect WMHW-FM in Mount Pleasant. 
When WICA signed on, all NPR news and talk programming moved there from WIAA and its satellites. This left Cadillac, the second-largest city in IPR's coverage area, without a clear signal for most NPR programming. Partly to alleviate ths problem, Interlochen signed on WLMN in Manistee in August 2010. However, WLMN's signal doesn't reach Cadillac.
In the spring of 2011, a third IPR News Radio signal began operations with the sign-on of WHBP 90.1 FM in Harbor Springs, Michigan, expanding the network's reach to include the Petoskey, Charlevoix and Mackinaw City area.
==Sources==
*Michiguide.com - WIAA History
*Michiguide.com - WIAB History
*Michiguide.com - WICA History
*Michiguide.com - WICV History
==External links==
Category:Radio stations in Michigan
Category:Classical music radio stations in the United States