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Spokane Public Radio is a member of NPR,
PRI & APM.
Site hosted by
Argia.
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1980
· January 19: The eagerly-anticipated public radio station for the Spokane
area, KPBX, goes on the air.
· May 18: Mount St. Helens erupts; as the phone company appeals for emergency
calls only, KPBX postpones its first pledge drive
1982
· June: Marvin Granger, the man Garrison Keillor credits for starting
his radio career, ends three years at the helm of KPBX. Music Director
Richard Malawista takes over as General Manager.
1983
· KPBX holds “Election 91,” where spring pledgers voted their favorites.
Congressman Tom Foley called in the deciding vote for Mozart over Beethoven
for favorite classical composer. Best Jazz winner was Miles Davis, Bob
Edwards beat Susan Stamberg for best newscaster. The drive raised over
$30,000 for KPBX.
· Dan Maher, ending the program Survey of North American Folk Music, begins
Inland Folk.
1986
· October: Concert of the Week begins, on Tuesday nights. It is later
changed to Mondays to give the local performers an opportunity to hear
their work on the radio. The Music Director is able to choose any free-standing
concert of quality, local, national, or international.
1987
· Fresh Air with Terry Gross doubles its time to an hourly show every
weekday
· Staff members Mary Hawkins, Brian Flick, and Verne Windham brainstorm
and present the Jazz Masters series, celebrating excellent but lesser-known
Spokane musicians
· Frank Delaney, host of the Backwater Blues Show since 1982, turns his
focus to Raw Bites computer and technology commentaries.
· Michael Patoray begins The Saturday Café.
1988
· September: KPBX turns on the South Hill translator with a party featuring
radio personalities. This new translator joins frequencies in Coeur d’Alene,
Sandpoint, Kellogg, Omak, and Enterprise.
· October: Dick Kunkel (right)) takes charge of Spokane Public Radio as
General Manager and Program Director.
1990
· January: Car Talk begins airing Saturdays at 6 p.m.
· May: Marian McPartland performs in Spokane to celebrate KPBX’s 10th
anniversary.
· The Bonners Ferry translator is turned on, while translators for Methow
Valley and Okanogan Valley are built.
1991
· January: KPBX holds its first Recordings & Videos Sale. Donated records
& tapes sell for as little as 50 cents, and as much as $5.
· July: KPBX and Katherine Gellhorn present the first Evening Under the
Stars fundraiser
1993
· June: The first KPBX Kids' Concert with brass instrumentalists,
The Bottom Line, in Riverfront Park.
· August: KPBX hosts the first Blues Cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
· After years of 30-day pledge drives, KPBX holds its first 10-day pledge
drive.
1994
· Leon Atkinson begins hosting the Guitar Hour.
· An attack on public funding leads to outpouring of support for public
radio and television.
1995
· To celebrate KPBX’s 15th anniversary, Peter Schickele and
Bob Edwards both make appearances in Spokane.
· January: John Johnson begins Johnson’s Improbable History
of Pop.
1996
· KPBX purchases its own grand piano for the performance studio, and celebrates
with an on-air piano party featuring Archie Chen, Greg Presley, and other
local pianists.
· Ice Storm cuts off power to both the studio and the tower. KPBX is knocked
off the air.
1997
· May: Verne WIndham invites young competitors in the Allied Arts Festival
(now Musicfest Northwest) to perform live on KPBX. Students continue to
return every year.
1998
· June: Garrison Keillor (right) brings A Prairie Home Companion to the
Spokane Opera House for a live nationwide broadcast. Tickets to the live
show sell out in an hour, and Keillor agrees to do a second, evening show.
1999
· Jason Moody, a teen violinist living near Sandpoint, wins A Prairie
Home Companion’s Talent from Towns under Two Thousand contest.
· July: KSFC, after two years of simulcasting KPBX, begins broadcasting
its own separate news programs.
· September: KPBX brings Susan Stamberg, “the mother of NPR,” to Spokane
to kick off 20th anniversary festivities
2000
· January: the KPBX Kids’ Concert features a taping of the new program
From the Top.
· May: Zorba Paster and Tom Clark appear in Spokane to dispense health
advice. Now, almost every weekly episode of On Your Health includes a
caller from the KPBX and KSFC listening area.
2001
· April: Ira Glass of This American Life presents a show in Spokane
2003
· KPBX and KSFC present a year-long series examining the heath of children
in our region. Growing Up Healthy is an experimental project partnered
with the Inlander and Health District.
· KPBX sets up its first repeater station, KIBX, to serve the Bonners
Ferry area.
2004
· KPBX begins The Bookshelf local reading series.
· The Northwest News Network opens a bureau in Coeur d’Alene, and increases
regional news coverage for members such as Spokane Public Radio.
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