KERS

On April 21, 1964, Sacramento State College applied for a construction permit to build a new noncommercial radio station in Sacramento. It would broadcast with 10 watts at 88.9 MHz. Dr. Howard Martin had been the primary exponent for a radio station on campus.^[3] The Federal Communications Commission approved the application on June 17th.^[4] KERS signed on the air on October 5, 1964 (October 5, 1964).^[3] Initially broadcasting seven hours a day, students produced most of the programming on the new outlet. It also aired taped lectures from the faculty and other cultural programs.^[3]

Sacramento State applied in 1967 to increase KERS's effective radiated power to 5,350 watts and move to 90.7 MHz. The FCC approved the change on June 22, 1967,^[4] and the new facility was activated in April 1968.^[5] Also installed at this time were a second production room, more offices and a wire service hookup.^[6] It had nearly doubled its output, being on air 95 hours a week; notable features included the telecast of all Sacramento State basketball games, home and away, as well as music recitals from the campus.^[7] By 1971, KERS's musical programming was largely progressive rock and jazz.^[8]

KERS's most notable moment would come on April 30, 1971, when student reporter Rosemarie King broke a bombshell story on her newscast: that Governor Ronald Reagan had not paid any state income tax in 1970. The revelation spread and forced Reagan to admit its veracity. It also prompted a state tax board agent to interview King, hoping to learn more about the leak, but the journalist refused to divulge her source.^[9] Her actions resulted in a commendation from two regions of Sigma Delta Chi.^[10] King would later be hired by Nancy Pelosi as her top aide when she took over the California Democratic Party in 1981^[11] and later served as the party's executive director and as a consultant.^[12]

From campus to public station

At the time, Sacramento did not have a public radio station of its own.^[13] In the late 1970s, Sacramento State pursued a strategy to transform KERS into a public station for the Sacramento Valley. Several federal grants were obtained to hire new staff.^[14] The school also sought to upgrade the facility, moving to 90.9 MHz at higher power from the KTXL tower in Walnut Grove;^[15] KTXL donated the tower space.^[16] Additionally, KERS suffered from budget constraints and community pressure related to its alternative programming.^[17]

That July, KERS left the air to regroup.^[18] Sacramento State students got a carrier-current and online student radio station in 1991.^[17]

McClatchy donation

McClatchy-owned KAER (92.5 FM) had been playing classical music but wanted to switch to a more mass-appeal format. McClatchy donated the station's classical music library and $5,000 to Sacramento State.^[16]

KXPR debuts

The university-owned station reemerged as KXPR on April 2, 1979, on its new frequency of 88.9 MHz.^[4][19] The new facility, however, had several problems with its signal, particularly in cars, prompting the station to pursue a transmitter relocation.^[20]

It sought to move its tower to Elk Grove and make a frequency change to 90.9 MHz.^[4] The tower was to be shared with KAER and KXOA-FM 107.7.^[21] But a series of contractual delays prompted the shared site to be shelved. Instead, KXPR built its own tower at a cost of $400,000.^[22] The new site was activated in November 1984.^[23]

In 1985, translators of KXPR were activated at Davis and South Lake Tahoe. The KXPR studios were relocated in December to a new site on American River Drive.^[24] KXPR was considered a success. That year, the station ranked eighth out of 257 public radio outlets in listenership.^[22]

KXPR operated on reduced power for 30 days during 1986 after flooding put the transmitter building under four feet of water and damaged the equipment. The station temporarily broadcast from the Sacramento Bee tower downtown. In the wake of the flooding, generators were installed at the studios and the transmitter site.^[22]

Frequency swap

In 1986, Sacramento State University applied for a second radio station on 88.9 MHz. That frequency had formerly been occupied by KERS in the 1960s and KXPR in the late 1970s and early 1980s.^[22] The July 1, 1991, launch of KXJZ (88.9 FM) created a second station focused on jazz and freed up more time on KXPR for classical music.^[25] KXPR became even more devoted to classical music when all news programming was consolidated on KXJZ in 1996.^[22]

In 1998, the umbrella organization renamed itself Capital Public Radio.^[22] The Capital Public Radio stations' studios returned to the Sacramento State campus in 2004.^[24]

On September 6, 2006, KXJZ and KXPR swapped frequencies in an effort to better serve the listeners and to improve KXJZ's coverage.^[26] Both stations operate with the maximum 50,000 watts but the 90.9 frequency has a taller tower, which gives a bit more coverage to KXJZ's news and talk programming.^[27] As a result, KXJZ operates on the former KXPR license, and vice versa.

The switch was not possible without Capital Public Radio continuing to lease, and eventually acquire, KUOP from the University of the Pacific, as moving KXJZ to 90.9 required that station to maintain its news programming. The 88.9 facility covers Stockton better but does not reach the northern portion of the Sacramento metropolitan area.^[28]

In 2020, KXPR and KXJZ relocated to new studio and office facilities downtown at the corner of 8th and J streets. The move accommodated the public radio network's expansion to 75 employees.^[24] In August 2023, CapRadio announced the lay off of 12% of its workforce, mostly part timers. General Manager Tom Karlo described it as "a financially challenging time for us and for media across the country."^[29] The work force had grown to more than 100 employees before the lay offs.