WGGL-FM (91.1 FM) is an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

member station in Houghton, Michigan. It first began broadcasting in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

and has been owned and operated by

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

since 1982. It carries a mix of classical music and NPR news-talk programming, running a schedule similar to what MPR ran before its 1991 split into a two-channel network. WGGL began operations on March 28, 1968, as a ten-watt station owned and operated by Michigan Technological University. The initial programming schedule ran for only five hours a day (4 to 9 p.m.) five days a week (soon expanded to six with the addition of Sunday programming). It shut down during summer vacations and school holidays. Programming was an entirely locally originating hybrid of classical, jazz and folk music along with local interest programming. WGGL increased power to 250 watts in late 1969 and then to 100,000 watts in 1971; by then, the station had affiliated with the then-fledgling NPR. WGGL attracted a fairly loyal following, although it served a very small market; there were just barely enough listeners for it to be viable as a standalone NPR station. However, by the start of the 1980s, WGGL was on the verge of being shut down due to budget cuts. Bill Kling of Minnesota Public Radio stepped in to buy the station from Michigan Tech in 1982. Since then, the station has mostly aired classical music and NPR programming fed from

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, time-shifted for the

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...

(MPR is based in the

Central Time Zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordina ...

). For some time, MPR still maintained a studio at Michigan Tech's campus in Houghton, producing a few hours per week of local programming. As of 2021, there is no studio space in Houghton and all programming is fed over satellite or from MPR to the station's transmitter site outside of town. In December 2012, WGGL modified its schedule to include more NPR news and talk programming. The station's midday classical music block was cut down to 12 noon to 2 p.m., and new offerings included ''

On Point ''On Point'' is a radio show produced by WBUR-FM in Boston and syndicated by American Public Media (APM). The show addresses a wide range of issues from news, politics, arts and culture, health, technology, environmental, and business topics, t ...

'' with

Tom Ashbrook Thomas E. Ashbrook is an American journalist and radio broadcaster. He was formerly the host of the nationally syndicated, public radio call-in program ''On Point'', from which he was dismissed after an investigation concluded he had created a ho ...

, two hours of ''

BBC Newshour ''Newshour'' is BBC World Service's flagship international news and current affairs radio programme, which is broadcast twice daily: weekdays at 1400, weekends at 1300 and nightly at 2100 (UK time). Each edition lasts one hour. It consists of n ...

'', and ''

Talk of the Nation ''Talk of the Nation'' (''TOTN'') is an American talk radio program based in Washington D.C., produced by National Public Radio ( NPR) that was broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It focused on current events and controversial i ...

'', in addition to the already-running ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

'', ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'', ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

'', and ''

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

''. Classical music remains on the schedule during evenings and overnights.

Translator

References

Michiguide.com - WGGL-FM History

External links

Station web page
* * * GGL-FM Classical music radio stations in the United States Minnesota Public Radio NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1968 {{Michigan-radio-station-stub