KRPS 89.9 to be off air during move

Staff at KRPS 89.9 Radio, part of Pittsburg State University, are busy this week packing up to move about 70 boxes of classical and jazz CDs and records along with office supplies and essential broadcasting pieces.

On Tuesday, the station will go off the air so that it can move to a new temporary space in Grubbs Hall.

Station manager Fred Fletcher-Fierro is uncertain how many days it will take to return to broadcasting. He encourages listeners to check the KRPS website at krps.org and Facebook page at facebook.com/89.9KRPS for an announcement.

Meanwhile, plans are being finalized for a new space for the station in the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. The station has occupied Shirk Hall on Joplin Street since the station went on air in 1988. Shirk Hall is being vacated as it is on the list for demolition in coming years.

Shirk Hall was constructed in 1958 as a men's residence hall and was renovated in 1988 to house KRPS, the Business and Technology Institute, University Police and Parking, and other offices. The building was named in honor James Abram Garfield Shirk, a past chairman of the Physics Department.

The KRPS station is unique: it's the only 100,000-watt station in the area, with a coverage area that spans 100 miles and reaches listeners in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

KRPS is well-known for broadcasting and streaming NPR and BBC News, in addition to locally produced news and content from the Kansas News Service and Missouri partner stations.

One thing that can't make the move to the new location: boxes of KRPS branded coffee mugs. Those interested may call the station at 620-235-4288.