CapRadio (Capital Public Radio) is the

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

service of

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

. It consists of two full-power stations and five repeaters, all members of

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. It is the NPR member for

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and much of the surrounding area, including Stockton and

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

. The group is headquartered on Folsom Boulevard on the Sacramento State campus. CapRadio also operates

North State Public Radio North State Public Radio (KCHO 91.7 Chico/KFPR 88.9 Redding) is an NPR-affiliated public radio broadcaster which has main stations in the Northern California cities of Redding and Chico. It airs news and public affairs, classical music, talk ...

serving the northern Sacramento Valley, and KHSU serving the North Coast, under operating agreements.

Stations

KXJZ KXJZ (90.9 MHz) is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station in Sacramento, California. It is owned by Sacramento State University and has studios on the campus at 7055 Folsom Boulevard. KXJZ's sister station is classical mu ...

(90.9 FM) in Sacramento airs news and talk programming from NPR, as well as jazz and blues programming on weekends. KXJZ's programming is repeated on KUOP in Stockton at 91.3 FM, KKTO in Tahoe City at 90.5 FM, and KQNC in Quincy at 88.1 FM. KKTO's signal also reaches

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

and

Carson City, Nevada Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,63 ...

, giving much of northern Nevada a second choice for NPR programming alongside that area's flagship station, KUNR.

KXPR KXPR (88.9 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station in Sacramento, California, airing a classical music format. Along with sister station KXJZ 90.9 FM, they are known as Capital Public Radio or "CapRadio." Both sta ...

(88.9 FM) in Sacramento airs mostly classical music programming, and

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

along with blues and jazz on weeknights and Sundays. It is also Sacramento's home for ''

Live From Here ''Live from Here'', formerly known as ''A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile'', is an American variety radio show known for its musical guests, tongue-in-cheek radio drama, and relaxed humor. Hosted by Chris Thile, it aired live on Saturday ...

'' (formerly ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

''). KXPR's programming is repeated on KXSR in Groveland at 91.7 FM (serving the central Sierra Nevada) and KXJS in Sutter at 88.7 FM.

History

Capital Public Radio traces its roots to KERS, a student radio station that signed on from Sacramento State in 1964. The 10-watt station grew in power to 5,000 watts by the late 1960s. However, a decade later, Sacramento was still without a public radio station, and Sacramento State embarked on a campaign to transform KERS into such an outlet. On April 2, 1979, KXPR signed on at 88.9 FM airing a mix of classical music, jazz, and NPR news programming. It originally operated at 20,000 watts. In 1984, it moved to 90.9 FM from a new, more powerful transmitter, operating at 50,000 watts. By 1985, it was the eighth most listened-to NPR station in the country.History page
at archive of Capital Public Radio Website Amid the expansion of NPR's schedule in the 1980s, Sacramento State sought and was granted a second station. That station, KXJZ, signed on in 1991 at 88.9 FM. By 1996, it had taken all NPR news programming from KXPR. The first full-power satellite, KXSR, signed on in 1992. KKTO followed in 1996, taking over from a low-powered translator that had operated from South Lake Tahoe since 1985. In 2006, KXPR and KXJZ swapped frequencies. KXJZ moved to 90.9, while KXPR returned to 88.9.

References

External links

* {{NPR California NPR member stations