Before contacting the La Crosse office, check here for our latest updates:
WPR's Newsmakers, our weekly regional talk show, explores topics and issues of interest to our tri-state listeners in western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, and northeastern Iowa. For details, scroll down to "Regional Programs" (below).
WPR EXPLORES LA CROSSE HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD CHALLENGES in a multi-part series, now available online. For details, scroll down to "Regional Programs" (below).
JAZZ, BLUES AND MORE ADD PIZAZZ TO YOUR EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS ON 88.9 WLSU. For details, scroll down to Music Programs under "Regional Programs" (below).
"WORLD PERSPECTIVES" features international student commentaries on home, culture and living abroad... For details, scroll down to "Special Announcements" (below).
REMEMBERING WLSU'S FOUNDING STATION MANAGER JIM CONWAY... For details, scroll down to "Special Announcements" (below).
WPR HD2 digital broadcasts feature CLASSICAL MUSIC AND MORE... For details, scroll down to "Special Announcements" (below).
Welcome to the Southwest Regional Office of Wisconsin Public Radio. We invite your questions and comments about membership, programming and other regional broadcast-related matters; our office can also guide you through making major financial gifts or corporate support/underwriting contributions to WPR; and we're home to WPR's award-winning La Crosse News Bureau.
WPR is community supported public radio serving western Wisconsin and beyond. Listeners support WPR through annual membership gifts. Learn more - and make a pledge! - at Support WPR.
WPR's community support also includes business, corporate and institutional sponsorships of local and network programming. Underwriting the cost of our programming provides many benefits:
* Creates interest in a business' products and services
* Enhances name recognition among a highly desirable, upscale and educated audience
* Associates a business with quality programming
* Promotes a business regionally, statewide or nationally
To learn more about WPR's corporate support opportunities, contact Marv Spielman, in La Crosse, at 785-8987, toll-free at 888-790-0185, or via email. You can also learn more at WPR Underwriting.
LOCAL MORNING NEWS on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1, La Crosse's NPR news and music station from WPR:
Weekdays during Morning Edition (4-9 a.m.),Wisconsin Public Radio teams up with NPR to cover the day's regional and world news. Special reports and extended interviews produced by the La Crosse News Bureau are aired at 7:20 or 7:50. Selected reports can be found on our La Crosse News Specials archive page.
Farmland News & Notes: Steve Roisum's reports on Midwest agribusiness and consumer news, from the WPR-La Crosse News Bureau, are heard during WPR's statewide newscasts, with occasional special segments during 88.9 WLSU's Morning Edition. Learn more and hear archives of these reports on our Farmland News & Notes archive page.
Arts & entertainment reports on Great River Region arts and cultural events and activities, music performances, theater, visual arts, community festivals, and more, are featured Fridays, at 8:40, on Morning Edition. WPR's John Gaddo hosts.
Highlights of regional current affairs programming:
WPR's Newsmakers is the WPR-La Crosse News Bureau's locally-produced weekly news and current affairs talk show. These hour-long discussions go "behind the scenes" to explore stories of regional interest through in-depth interviews and occasional features. Newsmakers' on-air broadcasts can be heard Thursdays at 5 p.m. on Ideas 90.3 WHLA (simulcast on 88.9 WLSU-HD2).
NEXT TIME...reaction to a decision by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to allow expanded power lines between Alma and Holmen...part of the project known as CapX2020. (5-17-12)
Here's the latest...With college graduations around the corner, we'll assess the job market for graduating seniors, and learn what type of degrees guarantee employment these days. (5-10-12)
ALSO from Newsmakers: Online...
* We consider potential longer term impacts on plants, trees or gardeners resulting from our strange weather start to the year. And we talk with a Coulee Region native who's competing in the Olympic-style Warrior Games in Colorado. (5-3-12)
* The goal at the La Crosse County landfill is to reuse or recycle as much garbage before burying it in the ground...during Earth Week, we talk about that and other sustainability efforts of the La Crosse County solid waste department. (4-26-12)
For more than three decades Newsmakers has been taking La Crosse-area listeners beyond the headlines with extended interviews and in-depth conversations that advance the top stories of the day. Historically broadcast on WLSU, the show has extended its audience reach and is now broadcast on Ideas 90.3 WHLA, as well as WLSU-HD2 and online here at WPR.org/LaCrosse.
The La Crosse News Bureau's senior news editor, and Newsmakers producer, is John Davis; WPR reporter Maureen McCollum hosts the series. Contributors to Newsmakers include reporter Steve Roisum (WPR), producer Mary Meehan-Strub (director of UW-Extension for La Crosse County), and executive producer John Gaddo, WPR's regional manager for southwestern Wisconsin.
We invite your feedback, comments and questions. Please email members of the Newsmakers production team (email addresses above); general comments can be directed to WPR Regional Manager John Gaddo.
All new! From NPR, Song Travels with host Michael Feinstein who welcomes a new guest each week to explore the genre of American Popular Song, examining how these great songs have evolved through the years, changing with each interpretation and artist. Guests as diverse as Joshua Bell, Bette Midler, Cheyenne Jackson, Rumer, Thomas Lauderdale, and Liza Minnelli give intimate performances and share personal insights of his or her interpretation of the Great American Songbook.
Song Travels can be heard on 88.9 WLSU through July 1, Sundays at 3 p.m. and again at 8 p.m.
New!LIVE BLUES on WPR's 88.9 WLSU
Wednesday Night Blues -- part of the weeknight jazz and blues programming on 88.9 WLSU, WPR's music station in La Crosse -- includes monthly 'live performance' broadcasts.
This month, host Tami Bartels welcomes Independent Music Award winners Joe and Vicki Price from Decorah, Iowa. Joe and Vicki's music is flavored more to the juke-joint end of the blues: a bit rough and tons of fun. Join us for this special broadcast, May 30, 8 p.m.
Recent guests have included western Wisconsin's County Road G: Heather Kitching, bass; Jeff Strand, electric guitar; and Noah Hittner, acoustic guitar, vocals. Combining the influences of blues, folk, and classic rock, they perform mostly original material with selected covers (April 2012); La Crosse's Greg "Cheech" Hall (March 2012); and Winona blues musician Mike Munson (February 2012).
Wednesday Night Blues presents three hours of blues every Wednesday from 8-11 p.m. Bartels draws mainly from the WLSU music library, but also features musicians from our scenic river and bluffs region along the Mississippi River who perform solo and acoustic blues "live" in our studios.
The World Cafe - Weekdays, 6-8 p.m.; Saturdays, 6-7 p.m.
Weeknights, from NPR Music, host David Dye connects us with what's new in the world of music; from jazz to acoustic to new folk and contemporary indie pop, David introduces the musicians creating today's music through studio interviews and performances, plus new and classic recordings. On Saturdays, David returns with selected interviews and performances from recent programs on Conversations from the World Cafe.
World Cafe playlists, recent music news, reviews, and much more about all types of music are available at World Cafe and NPR Music.
Sundays at 6 p.m., sample selected performances and regional variety on Tent Show Radio and special broadcasts of The Big River Radio Wave. These two shows present contemporary music, from acoustic and folk to swing and rock, plus spoken word, comedy, skits and more. Tent Show Radio (also heard Saturday at 7 p.m. on WPR's Ideas Network) originates from the Big Top Chautauqua on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin; The Big River Radio Wave is presented at the Big River Theater along the Mississippi River in Alma.
Jazz Night - Weeknights and Sundays, 8 p.m. * Sunday through Thursday evenings, locally-hosted jazz & blues from the WLSU music library, including:
...music specials and a wider-than-usual range of styles that intersect with jazz, Sunday nights on The Sunday Jam; and Blues Night on Wednesdays.
* Friday nights feature PRI's Riverwalk Jazz, followed by an evening of recent recordings and classic performances hosted by nationally-syndicated jazz host Bob Parlocha.
Jazz Encores, late night/overnight La Crosse-area hosts share favorites from the WLSU music library, including selected encore broadcasts from past shows.
The Saturday Afternoon Jazz Club - Saturdays, noon-5 p.m.
David Miller hosts an hour of big band favorites from noon-1 on Swingin' Down the Lane (repeated Sundays at 7 p.m.). And then between 1 and 5, WLSU hosts play favorites from the WLSU music library. Requests are welcome at (608)785-8380
Side By Side Jazz is an ongoing series showcasing WLSU's extensive collection of LP recordings, one side at a time; it can be heard Sunday afternoons at 2; repeats are scheduled periodically throughout WLSU's weekly jazz schedule.
OF SPECIAL NOTE...
Roots Gospel host Gail Vaughan shares recordings from the "golden age of Gospel" - the middle decades of the 20th century - that led more than one musician into the world of jazz, blues, rock, funk and popular music. Roots Gospel is a recurring special...watch for new broadcast dates.
Sonic Vibrations - Sunday 10 p.m.
The Sunday Jam concludes each week with an hour of electronic music featuring the improvisation and jazz-like influences on contemporary electronic artists; Steve Farley hosts and welcomes your comments or playlist requests by e-mail at sonicvibrations889@hotmail.com
WPR Network Programming - Information on NPR News and music programming on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1, La Crosse, and 89.1 WSSW, Platteville, can be found at WPR News and Music. Please note: local programming preempts some WPR network programs on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1; you can hear the entire service on 88.9 WLSU-HD2.
WPR CLassical, Wisconsin Public Radio's full-time classical music service can be heard locally on 90.3 WHLA-HD2 and 91.3 WHHI-HD2 or over the Internet, Learn more at WPR Classical.
Details about WPR's Ideas Network programming on 90.3 WHLA-FM/HD1, La Crosse, and 91.3 WHHI-FM/HD1, Highland, can be found at WPR Ideas.
SUPPORTING THE ARTS IN OUR COMMUNITY!
Wisconsin Public Radio supports several arts and performance series throughout the greater La Crosse area -- we encourage you to support these events with your presence.
Steven Marking at La Crosse's Pump House Regional Arts Center: WPR-La Crosse music host Tami Bartels welcomes baritone Steven Marking and friends for a concert of American Art Songs on Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. Learn more at The Pump House.
Ricky Nelson Remembered at West Salem's Heider Center for the Arts: WPR-La Crosse welcomes Matthew and Gunnar Nelson for a multi entertainment tribute to their father Ricky Nelson, Sunday, April 29, and Monday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. Meet La Crosse regional Manager John Gaddo who emcees the April 30 show. Learn more at The Heider Center for the Arts.
Storyhill at La Crosse's Pump House Regional Arts Center: La Crosse Regional Manager John Gaddo welcomes the acoustic folk duo Storyhill on Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. Learn more at The Pump House.
Watch here for updates of WPR-sponsored events presented by one or more of our community partners: The Pump House Regional Arts Center, UW-La Crosse Department of Theatre Arts, UW-La Crosse Campus Activities Board, the Heider Center for the Arts, Viterbo University, and others -- and thanks!!
Online links to La Crosse-area community, arts and cultural events from around the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa can be found on our Regional Events and Activities page.
"WORLD PERSPECTIVES" is a collaborative project produced in conjunction with UW-La Crosse. Throughout the year, the La Crosse office of Wisconsin Public Radio hosts tours, class conversations and special program opportunities to assist UWL international students in their understanding of U.S. media, community issues, and the English language.
Since 2009, this initiative has included gathering student commentaries and essays that reflect their perspectives on home, culture, and living abroad. The full archive, including all-new essays from the 2011-12 academic-year, and details of the project are available on our "WORLD PERSPECTIVES" page.
IN 2012, HD DIGITAL RADIO OFFERS CLASSICAL MUSIC (AND MORE) FROM WPR
HD digital radio broadcasts are available from Wisconsin Public Radio throughout southwestern Wisconsin. These "high definition" digital stations also serve the adjoining portions of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.
Our "HD1" broadcasts on each of these stations offer a better quality sound of WPR's regular programs; "HD2" broadcasts offer additional channels of programming not normally available on the typical FM or HD1 stations.
90.3 WHLA-HD2 and 91.3 WHHI-HD2 feature WPR's 24-hour classical music network, WPR Classical. 88.9 WLSU-HD2 is currently broadcasting the NPR News and Classical Music network from WPR, simulcasting most of the same programs already on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1, but offering an alternate overnight classical music service. Additional programs will be added to WLSU-HD2 in the months ahead.
MORE ON HD RADIO...
HD radio broadcasts result in two significant changes for listeners with HD radio receivers:
* First, it enhances the sound of a station's existing programs by improving the signal to a CD-quality listening experience.
* Second, it allows FM radio stations to add additional channels of programming to better serve listeners who have HD radio receivers. (The station's main programming is heard on HD1, while additional programming can be heard on HD2, HD3, etc.)
Early in 2007 88.9 WLSU-FM introduced the first full-time HD radio signal to La Crosse. In September 2008 WPR upgraded Ideas 90.3 WHLA, La Crosse, to HD. Ideas 91.3 WHHI, Highland, has also been upgraded to HD.
Learn more about HD radio and WPR's HD radio stations here. Learn more about WPR Classical, here. And learn more about HD digital radio on a national basis here.
If you are an HD radio listener, we invite your comments and signal reports. Please email them to WPR's southwest regional manager John Gaddo.
Friends and family gathered on June 18, 2011 to remember and celebrate the life of WLSU's founding station manager, Jim Conway. The memorial was held at his residence along the Mississippi River in La Crescent, MN. Conway passed away in January during his annual winter stay in Florida; he'd been fighting colon cancer at the time.
On the occasion of June's gathering, long-time friend and colleague John Jenks, UW-La Crosse professor emeritus, shared his recollections of Conway, his professional and personal accomplishments, and WLSU's founding in an interview with current WLSU/WPR regional manager John Gaddo, himself a student of Conway's in the 1970s.
January 2011: WPR welcomes Maureen McCollum to its La Crosse News Bureau. Maureen comes to us from NPR affiliate KBIA at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO where she was a news anchor and reporter. Maureen is a 2007 graduate of UW-La Crosse and was a part-time reporter for WPR in La Crosse in 2008. She'll report on regional issues for WPR's statewide newscasts and WPR's regional current affairs talk show Newsmakers.
Maureen says her love for radio began at a very young age when she created shows on her parents' boombox. That curiosity carried her into her studies at UWL and eventually to her reporting for KBIA, a network of Missouri public radio stations, and nationally for PRI's Marketplace. In addition to her reporting duties, Maureen's work has included mentoring University of Missouri journalism students.
Stories, edited for broadcast, from StoryCorps' visit to La Crosse in July-August, 2010 are gradually finding their way to WPR's airwaves and online archives. Audio archives of stories already broadcast can be found on the WPR StoryCorps homepage. Pictures of participants can be seen here.
Listen for announcements and watch WPR's e-Newsletter, RadioWaves, and our website for additional broadcast details.
What is StoryCorps? StoryCorps staff travel the country year-round recording the stories, life experiences, and conversations of everyday people. The independent nonprofit project whose mission is to "honor and celebrate stories from all walks of life," collected over 100 conversations during its month-long stay, July 12-August 7, at the La Crosse Public Library. These stories are recorded and preserved at the Library of Congress, with selected stories broadcast on Morning Edition from NPR and WPR (heard locally on 88.9 WLSU).
You can learn more about StoryCorp's national initiative here.
MANY THANKS to our La Crosse-area community partners who made the StoryCorps visit possible, including the La Crosse Public Library, Gundersen Lutheran, Merchants Bank, the Pump House and People's Food Co-op!
