Kansas Public Radio named Station of the Year for 2016

LAWRENCE — Kansas Public Radio at the University of Kansas has been named the 2016 Station of the Year by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB). The KAB first presented the award in 1996, and KPR has earned the top award 16 of the past 21 years, more than any other Kansas radio or TV station. In addition to winning the overall award of excellence, KPR won a number of individual awards for news and public affairs programming, including three first-place awards, five second-place awards and three honorable mentions.

Spot News

First place for "Kansas Lawmakers, KU Tangle over Construction Bonds" by Stephen Koranda

Second place for "Dental Shortage Debate Continues at Kansas Statehouse" by Jim McLean and J. Schafer

Hard News Feature/Enterprise

First place for "Mapleton Residents Left without Heat" by Stephen Koranda

Honorable mention for "Fight Continues in Kansas over Voter Registration" by Stephen Koranda

Public Affairs

First place for "A Very Merry KPR Presents" by Kaye McIntyre

News Feature

Second place for "Spencer Museum Pushes Art Programs into Public Spaces" by Stephen Koranda

Special Program

Second place for "In Session: News from the Kansas Statehouse" by J. Schafer, Stephen Koranda and Jim McLean

Complete Newscast

Honorable mention for Morning Edition News with J. Schafer

Editorial/Commentary

Second place for "Pluto: A Kansas Man's Lasting Legacy" by Rex Buchanan

Honorable mention for "Finding Hope in the Bleak Midwinter of Kansas" by Cheryl Unruh

Website

Second place for KPR.KU.EDU (KansasPublicRadio.org) by Danny Mantyla, Joanna Fewins and KPR staff

KPR News Director J. Schafer said, "Well, shucks. it's always gratifying to have your work recognized by others. But the real satisfaction comes in serving our community.  Our entire team, from the on-air personnel to those working behind the scenes, is focused on informing, engaging and sometimes simply entertaining our listeners. And most days, I like to think we do that fairly well."

The KAB will hand out the awards in October at its annual convention. This year's KAB convention will take place in Wichita.

KPR is licensed to KU, broadcasts on 91.5 FM and 96.1 FM in Lawrence, 89.7 FM in Emporia, 91.3 FM in Olsburg-Junction City, 89.9 FM in Atchison, 90.3 FM in Chanute, and 99.5 FM and 97.9 FM in Manhattan. KPR can be heard online at http://kpr.ku.edu. KPR also operates KPR2, a news-talk programming stream, which can be heard on an HD receiver or on KPR’s website.