AUDIO ARCHIVES: Selected WLSU/WHLA programs are available on the La Crosse audio archives page.

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Highlights of regular local programming include:

...on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1, the NPR news and music service of WPR:

Weekdays during Morning Edition (4-9 am),Wisconsin Public Radio and WLSU team up with NPR to cover the day's news. Occasional special reports and extended interviews produced by the La Crosse News Bureau air at 7:50; weekly current affairs segments are heard regularly at 8:30:

Newsmakers - Monday 8:30 am

WLSU’s weekly news and current affairs round-table discussion with an emphasis on timely Coulee Region people, issues and special guests.

Day to Day Ethics - Tuesday 8:30 am

This series addresses ethical issues that face people in their everyday lives; learn more about the series at the D.B. Reinhart Center for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University, or listen online to audio archives.

WLSU's encore broadcasts through February include:

Feb. 9 – Margarita Olivas: Diversity…Right Here in the Neighborhood? A look at welcoming the strangers in our midst.

Feb. 16 – Peter Razor: While the Locust Slept. Growing up Indian in the 30s, he suffered injustice and cruelty; now he's sharing his story so that history will not repeat itself.

Feb. 23 – NEW!! Susan Cosby Ronnenberg: First Generation College Students. A discussion about what it's like to be the first in your family to attend college.

Mar. 2 – Nick Smith: Life in Congress. A retired legislator tells his story.

Mar. 9 – Rick Kyte: No Easy Answers. An ethicist challenges our thinking.

Mar. 16 – Chris Hardie: What’s New in the News Business? A editor talks about his changing profession and the ethical challenges that go with it.

Mar. 23 – Dr. Joe Caron: The Family Doc. A family physician talks about the profession he loves.

Mar. 30 – Mark Fenton: America’s Walking. Champion walker speaks of walking to a better life

Coulee Region Connections - Thursday 8:30 am

Mary Meehan-Strub, director of UW Extension for La Crosse County, hosts this weekly conversation about community events and organizations.

Arts & Entertainment Weekly - Friday 8:30 am

WLSU’s weekly guide to Coulee Region arts events and activities features timely previews, interviews and occasional performances; with host John Gaddo.

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MUSIC PROGRAMS exclusively on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1...

The World Cafe - Weekdays, 6-8 p.m.; Saturdays, 6-7 p.m.
Weeknights, from NPR Music, host David Dye connects us with what's new in the world of music; from jazz to acoustic to new folk and contemporary indie pop, David introduces the musicians creating today's music through studio interviews and performances, plus new and classic recordings. On Saturdays, David returns with selected interviews and performances from recent programs on Conversations at the World Cafe.

World Cafe playlists, recent music news, reviews, and much more about all types of music are available at World Cafe and NPR Music.

Jazz Night - Weeknights and Sundays, 8 p.m.
* Sunday through Thursday evenings, locally-hosted jazz & blues from the WLSU music library, including:
...music specials and a wider-than-usual range of styles that intersect with jazz, Sunday nights on The Sunday Jam; and Blues Night on Wednesdays.
* Friday nights feature PRI's Riverwalk Jazz, followed by an evening of recent recordings and classic performances hosted by nationally-syndicated jazz host Bob Parlocha.

Jazz Encores, late night/overnight
La Crosse-area hosts share favorites from the WLSU music library, including selected encore broadcasts from past shows.

The Saturday Afternoon Jazz Club - Saturday 1-5 p.m.
Join volunteer hosts (and jazz fans) every Saturday afternoon. Requests are welcome at (608)785-8380

Side By Side Jazz is an ongoing series showcasing WLSU's extensive collection of LP recordings, one side at a time; it can be heard Sunday afternoons from 2 to 4 p.m.; repeats are scheduled periodically throughout WLSU's weekly jazz schedule.

Sonic Vibrations - Sunday 10 p.m.
The Sunday Jam concludes each week with an hour of electronic music featuring the improvisation and jazz-like influences on contemporary electronic artists; Steve Farley hosts and welcomes your comments or playlist requests by e-mail at sonicvibrations889@hotmail.com

For WLSU's full schedule, check out our daily program guide.

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Other program news...

WPR Network Programming - Information on NPR News and music programming on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1, La Crosse, and 89.1 WSSW, Platteville, can be found at WPR News and Music. Please note: local programming preempts some WPR network programs on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1; you can hear the entire service on 88.9 WLSU-HD2). WPR CLassical, Wisconsin Public Radio's full-time classical music service can be heard locally on 90.3 WHLA-HD2 and 91.3 WHHI-HD2 or over the Internet, Learn more at WPR Classical.

Details about WPR's Ideas Network programming on 90.3 WHLA-FM/HD1, La Crosse, and 91.3 WHHI-FM/HD1, Highland, can be found at WPR Ideas.

Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion is coming to the big screen, at a movie theater near you!

In an exciting first for the show, on Thursday, February 4th, a performance of A Prairie Home Companion was beamed live in high-definition from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul to some 500 participating movie theaters and performing arts centers across the U.S. and Canada – including La Crosse's Marcus Cinema 11 (2032 Ward Avenue).

Because of the show's popularity, the Thursday night live cinecast was SOLD OUT! However, an encore of the program will run on Tuesday, February 9th at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale in advance at the Ward Avenue Marcus Cinema 11 Theatre in south La Crosse: 608-788-1285.

This special two-hour presentation begins at 7 p.m. Preceding the special presentation, the theater will show a 30-minute, specially produced "walk-in," featuring show trivia and other entertaining elements.

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SUPPORTING THE ARTS IN OUR COMMUNITY!

Wisconsin Public Radio supports several arts and performance series throughout the greater La Crosse area – we encourage you to support these events with your presence.

Of special note...

WPR is a cosponsor of events at La Crosse's Pump House Regional Arts Center; complete details can be found at ThePumpHouse.org. Please join us for these upcoming events and performances:
• "Back in the World: Portraits of Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans" – an exhibition of portraits by Madison photographer James Gill featuring veterans participating in a Wisconsin Public Television project that pays tribute to their service; January 27-March 13.
• 5,000 Lbs is an original play based on the lives of seven characters who served in Vietnam in 1968; February 4-20.
• Lucy Kaplansky – the singer/songwriter combines acoustic, classic country and folk influences into her music; February 26, 7:30 p.m.
• Storyhill – an acoustic/pop duo blending Americana, folk and pop styles; March 13, 7:30 p.m.

WPR is cosponsoring concerts at the Heider Center for the Arts, West Salem; details can be found at The Heider Center. Join us when you can!
• Dallas Brass – A musical travelogue through American history; February 15, 7:30 p.m.
• Randy Sabien and Friends – The Wisconsin fiddler and friends present a toe-tapping rhythmic, bluesy, swingin' sound; March 19, 7:30 p.m.
• Home Free – This a cappella group from Mankato, MN performs an expansive mix of pop songs to classical and even techno music for audiences of all ages; April 15, 7:30 p.m.

WPR is a media sponsor for performances in the Viterbo University BrightStar series, including I Musici de Montreal (January 31), Ed Asner as FDR (March 25), and Stay Tuned (May 5); details are available at Viterbo's Bright Star Series.

Watch here for updates of WPR-sponsored events presented by one or more of our community partners: The Pump House Regional Arts Center, UW-La Crosse Department of Theatre Arts, UW-La Crosse Campus Activities Board, the Heider Center for the Arts, Viterbo University, and others -- and thanks!!

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Coulee Region Events and Activities

Online links to Coulee Region community events can be found on our Regional Events and Activities page.

"WORLD PERSPECTIVES" is a collaborative project produced in conjunction with UW-La Crosse. Throughout the year, the La Crosse office of Wisconsin Public Radio hosts tours, class conversations and special program opportunities to assist UWL international students in their understanding of U.S. media, community issues, and the English language.

WPR La Crosse News Bureau producer Steve Roisum coordinated a 2009-2010 academic year project to record a series of student commentaries that reflect their perspectives on home, culture and living abroad. Their commentaries and details of the project are available here.

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HD DIGITAL RADIO OFFERS CLASSICAL MUSIC (AND MORE) FROM WPR

Wisconsin Public Radio has expanded its HD digital radio service to southwestern Wisconsin. These new "high definition" digital broadcasts also serve the adjoining portions of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

HD radio broadcasts result in two significant changes for listeners with HD radio receivers:

* First, it enhances the sound of a station's existing programs by improving the signal to a CD-quality listening experience.

* Second, it allows FM radio stations to add additional channels of programming to better serve listeners who have HD radio receivers. (The station's main programming is heard on HD1, while additional programming can be heard on HD2, HD3, etc.)

Early in 2007 88.9 WLSU-FM introduced the first full-time HD radio signal to La Crosse. In September 2008 WPR upgraded Ideas 90.3 WHLA, La Crosse, to HD. Similarly, Ideas 91.3 WHHI, Highland, has also been upgraded to HD.

90.3 WHLA-HD2 and 91.3 WHHI-HD2 are now broadcasting WPR Classical, the 24-hour classical music service of Wisconsin Public Radio.

88.9 WLSU-HD2 is currently broadcasting the NPR News and Classical Music service of WPR, simulcasting most of the same programs already on 88.9 WLSU-FM/HD1, but offering an alternate overnight classical music service. Additional programs will be added to WLSU-HD2 in the months ahead.

If you are an HD radio listener, we invite your comments and signal reports. Please email them to WPR's southwest regional manager John Gaddo. Also please note that there may be occasional interruptions to these services as engineers and programmers periodically fine-tune these new systems.

Learn more about HD radio and WPR's HD radio stations here. Learn more about WPR Classical, here. And learn more about HD digital radio on a national basis here.