WKAR (AM)
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| City | East Lansing, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lansing, Michigan |
| Branding | NewsTalk 870 |
| Frequency | 870 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 94.5 MHz W233CH East Lansing, Michigan |
| First air date | May 13, 1922 (experimental 1917–22) |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Power | 10,000 watts day only |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 41684 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°42′19″N 84°28′30″W / 42.70528°N 84.47500°W |
| Callsign meaning | Were assigned randomly and do not relate to MSU's original name (Michigan Agricultural College) |
| Affiliations | NPR |
| Owner | Michigan State University |
| Sister stations | WKAR-TV, WKAR-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wkar.org |
WKAR is a National Public Radio member station in East Lansing, Michigan, United States; broadcasting at 870 kHz. It is owned by Michigan State University, and carries news and talk shows from NPR. The station has also been licensed to operate a FM Translator at 94.5 MHz (W233CH). It is part of MSU's Broadcasting Services Division, and is a sister station to the FM radio and television stations with the same call letters. Its studios and offices are located in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building, at the southeast corner of Wilson and Red Cedar Roads on the MSU campus.
The station dates to experimental broadcasts at Michigan State, then known as Michigan Agricultural College, beginning in 1917. WKAR's first official broadcast was a "Founder's Day" speech on May 13, 1922. MAC was granted a full license on August 18, 1922. Although the call letters appear to stand for K(C)ollege of AgricultuRe, they were actually randomly assigned by Herbert Hoover, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce (which was the sole radio licensing authority). It was the only radio station in the Lansing area until 1934.
Originally broadcasting at AM 1050, it moved to 1080 in 1928. It moved to 1040 in 1930 to alleviate interference with KRLD in Dallas, but had to move to 850 in 1936 and to its current home on 870 in 1941 Between 1939-1941 WKAR boosted power from 1,000 to 5,000 watts. The station went to its current 10,000 watts in the late 1960s. The WKAR stations were charter members of NPR, and were among the 90 stations that carried the initial broadcast of All Things Considered.
The station is one of the few NPR stations that does not operate 24 hours a day. It must sign off at sundown to protect WWL in New Orleans. During the winter months, it generally signs off between 5 pm and 6 pm, returning to the air at 8 am. During the summer months, it generally signs off at 8 pm and returns to the air at 6 am. The majority of its schedule consists of NPR national programming. Local programs include the daily news/arts magazine Current State, the daily sports talk/call-in Current Sports and the long-running Spanish-language Ondas en Español hosted by Tony "El Chayo" Cervantes on weekends.
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