In 1988, KBSU became an NPR affiliate, increased its reach by growing to 19,000 watts and established a transmitter on Deer Point, just north of Boise, at 90.3FM. You can hear more from McCabe about the station’s beginnings and Idaho's radio history in the June 2017 newsletter of the History of Idaho Broadcasting Foundation. Broadcasts began on 90.1 FM from a 10-watt transmitter on top of the student union building and for ten years, KBSU was a free form station with student and volunteer on-air staff and a wide variety of musical offerings.
BSU UNIVERSITY PULSE RADIO LICENSE
In 1974, once the university changed its name to Boise State University, the radio station again changed its call letters, this time to KBSU.īoise State Public Radio marks its official inaugural year as 1977 when the station’s founder and manager, Gary McCabe, applied to the FCC to change the station's license from an AM broadcaster to a non-commercial FM broadcaster.
By 1967, and a handful of call letters and frequencies later, the radio club had become KBSC and broadcast various programs to the campus area. A handful of local hosts produce a range of music programs, from Open Range Radio and Idaho Music to Private Idaho and Shakedown Street.īoise State Public Radio’s journey to a robust dual-service station can be traced back to a Boise State University – then Boise Junior College – amateur radio club that began in the 1930s. KBSU 90.3 FM broadcasts nationally-distributed programs like A Prairie Home Companion, From the Top, and Mountain Stage. In addition to hearing world-class symphonies perform great works by composers like Mozart, Dvorak, and Bach, KBSU is also where you’ll hear jazz, folk, rock, and alternative music.
KBSU 90.3 FM is Boise State Public Radio’s music and arts service.