Kansas Public Radio at the University of Kansas has been named the 2016 Station of the Year by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) in the Medium Market Radio category. The KAB first presented the award in 1996, and KPR has earned the top award 16 of the past 21 years, more than any other Kansas radio or TV station in their respective categories. In addition to winning the overall award of excellence, KPR won a number of individual awards for news and public affairs programming, including three 1st Place awards, five 2nd Place awards and three Honorable Mention awards.
Spot News
1st Place for "Kansas Lawmakers, KU Tangle over Construction Bonds" by Stephen Koranda
2nd Place for "Dental Shortage Debate Continues at Kansas Statehouse" by Jim McLean and J. Schafer
Hard News Feature/Enterprise
1st Place for "Mapleton Residents Left Without Heat" by Stephen Koranda
HM for "Fight Continues in Kansas over Voter Registration" by Stephen Koranda
Public Affairs
1st Place for "A Very Merry KPR Presents" by Kaye McIntyre
News Feature
2nd Place for "Spencer Museum Pushes Art Programs into Public Spaces" by Stephen Koranda
Special Program
2nd Place for "In Session: News from the Kansas Statehouse" by J. Schafer, Stephen Koranda and Jim McLean
Complete Newscast
HM for Morning Edition News with J. Schafer
Editorial/Commentary
2nd Place for "Pluto: A Kansas Man's Lasting Legacy" by Rex Buchanan
HM for "Finding Hope in the Bleak Midwinter of Kansas" by Cheryl Unruh
Website
2nd Place for KPR.KU.EDU by Danny Mantyla, Joanna Fewins and KPR staff
KPR News Director J. Schafer said, "Well, shucks. It's always gratifying to have your work recognized by others. But the real satisfaction comes in serving our community. Our entire team, from the on-air personnel to those working behind the scenes, is focused on informing, engaging and sometimes simply entertaining our listeners. And most days, I like to think we do that fairly well."
The KAB will hand out the awards in October at its annual convention. This year's KAB convention will be held in Wichita. Here's a link to the entire list of this year's KAB winners.