KASU celebrates 68th birthday with celebration of Henry Glover

The oldest National Public Radio member in Arkansas is about to celebrate more than six decades of being on the air. KASU 91.9 FM, the public media service of Arkansas State University, will celebrate its 68th year on air this week.

KASU signed on the air May 17, 1957, from its first studio in Wilson Hall and is the oldest NPR member station in Arkansas. The station streams its signal from KASU.org, and its website provides continuous news content from NPR, Associated Press, other Arkansas public media stations, and the KASU news department.

Talk Business & Politics is a content partner with KASU and provides three radio programs per week to the station.

Listeners can join the KASU team to celebrate the anniversary from 6 until 10 p.m. on Saturday (May 17), at Cooper Alumni Center.

“We are excited about celebrating the 68th birthday of KASU with this event. KASU listeners have always shown their support for the station, and we want to share our appreciation. There has never been a better time to invest in KASU. Listener and underwriter support keeps us strong and helps us reach our goals,” said Mark Smith, KASU station manager.

The station will also be celebrating the life and music of Arkansawyer Henry Glover. Maestro3000 and the Time Machine will perform the music of Glover, along with their own songs. An exhibit on the life of Glover will be on display.

Glover, born in Hot Springs, was a musical trailblazer as a songwriter, producer, arranger, musician, talent scout, and studio wizard. He broke barriers as the first African American producer of country music. He also wrote or co-wrote country songs, along with multiple musical genres.

“We depend upon listener and underwriter support to help us bring listeners the music, news, arts and views they depend on. We appreciate all contributions as they all help us reach our goals,” Smith added.

KASU listeners become members by making financial contributions to the non-commercial educational station.

“Membership funds help support all facets of KASU,” added Smith. “The funds raised through this event and through our on-air fundraisers demonstrate the tremendous community support that public media has in our community, throughout our region, and around the world. Public media is a vital asset to our society.”

The station has been an NPR member station since 1971. In addition to locally produced news and music programs, KASU pays to receive programming from NPR, American Public Media, and other sources.