| Frequency | 88.3 MHz |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Format | Public radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | University of Utah |
| History | |
First air date | November 1, 1992 |
Former call signs | KBQA (1991–1992, CP) KCPW (1992–2004) KCPW-FM (2004–2024) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 13481 |
| Class | C3 |
| ERP | 450 watts |
| HAAT | 416 meters (1,365 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°37′53″N 112°07′53″W / 40.63139°N 112.13139°W |
KUUB (88.3 MHz) is a non-commercial public radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah. It airs local news, talk and music programming, as well as network shows from American Public Media, Public Radio International, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC World Service. It broadcasts from studios at the Salt Lake City Public Library in Downtown Salt Lake City at Library Square.
KUUB is owned by the University of Utah, which also owns Salt Lake City's NPR member station, 90.1 KUER-FM. KUUB's transmitter is located in the Oquirrh Mountains Range southwest of West Valley City.[1] The 88.3 FM frequency does not broadcast in FM stereo so it can improve reception in marginal signal areas. Due to other stations on 88.3 FM and adjacent frequencies in nearby cities, KUUB has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 450 watts, while most other Salt Lake City FM stations are powered at 25,000 watts or more.
On August 9, 1991, Community Wireless of Park City, Inc., received a construction permit to build a new FM non-commercial station in Salt Lake City from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC assigned it the call sign KBQA.[2] Community Wireless already had an FM station on 91.9 MHz in Park City, Utah, a ski resort community about 50 miles east of Salt Lake City. It later added other stations around Utah simulcasting its programming. On November 1, 1992, the Salt Lake City station officially signed on the air, with the new call sign KCPW.[3] That station changed its call sign to KCPW-FM on August 1, 2004.
In 2005, Community Wireless acquired an AM radio station licensed to Tooele, Utah, at 1010 kHz, which also took the call sign KCPW.[4] The AM station is powered in the daytime at 50,000 watts, giving the station a much wider coverage area. But in January 2008, Community Wireless decided to sell the 1010 AM frequency. Programming was switched to airing the BBC World Service around the clock until a Catholic organization agreed to acquire the station for religious programming.[5]
On March 28, 2008, Wasatch Public Media signed a letter of intent to purchase KCPW-FM.[6] A sales contract was signed in June 2008.[7] Had this not occurred, KCPW-FM would have instead been sold to the Educational Media Foundation for a national Christian contemporary format.[6] KCPW's AM 1010 facility was separately sold to Immaculate Heart Radio.[6][7] It became KIHU that August. The price tag for KCPW-FM was $2.4 million.
KCPW-FM ended its longtime National Public Radio (NPR) membership on June 24, 2013, allowing the station to reduce expenses as well as decrease duplication with the area's primary NPR network affiliate, 90.1 KUER-FM. KCPW-FM continued to carry national programming supplied by Public Radio International, American Public Media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC. The station also continued to produce its local programming.[8] In June 2014, the station announced that it would need to raise $42,000 by July 3 in order to pay for its American Public Media programming; if the goal was not met, KCPW-FM would have closed down and the money donated during the fund drive would be returned to the contributors.[9] The goal was reached on July 2, 2014.[10]
For most of its history, KCPW-FM had its transmitter atop the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Salt Lake City. It switched to a taller tower in the Oquirrh Mountains Range. In November 2023, Wasatch Public Media, KCPW-FM's parent company, agreed to sell it to the University of Utah for $450,000.[11] The sale was consummated on December 20, 2023, and on January 17, 2024, the station changed its call sign to KUUB.
On Fridays at 9 a.m., KUUB airs Behind The Headlines, hosted by Roger McDonough, featuring reporters from the Salt Lake Tribune. It is rebroadcast on Sunday at 10 a.m. On Wednesdays at 10 a.m., The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour is heard, hosted by Christian Camargo. It deals with local and national issues and politics, in cooperation with the Hinckley Institute of Politics. On Sunday evenings from 6 to 10 p.m., KUUB airs "Jazz Time" hosted by Steve Williams, a 35-year veteran of public radio.
In the past, KCPW-FM produced two local affairs programs, Midday Utah (shared with sister station KPCW) and Midday Metro. Midday Utah was hosted by Blair Feulner and covered topics of statewide and regional interest. Midday Metro, later renamed The Public Square, was hosted and produced by Lara Jones and covered topics of interest in the Salt Lake Valley. Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson was an occasional guest host on Midday Metro.