In addition to a variety of music, the University's radio station, WUPI, is now broadcasting news, weather, and class cancellations.

The broadcasts occur twice throughout the day: Once in the morning from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. during "Salutations with Sarah" and again from 5-5:30 p.m. during the "1/2-Hour News Lounge with Randy."

Station officials plan to increase the broadcasting of news and weather as the semester goes on as they gain feedback from listeners about what they want to hear. It's expected that the changes and the upcoming increases in broadcast range for the station will be widely accepted throughout the campus and local communities. 

            As mentioned in the Sept. 13 issue of the University Times, WUPI will soon be moving to a new, higher frequency on the radio dial which will give them the potential to reach a range from Fort Kent to Houlton. This move will increase the watts used by the station to 1,000, a significant difference from their current usage of 17 watts, which limits its broadcast area to Presque Isle.

            As it becomes a more community-based radio station, WUPI will get its news from many sources. The station will now broadcast the local and national news in addition to news on campus. Local news is obtained from the website of a local news center, WAGM, and the national news is gathered from the Associated Press. Weather data is coming from http://www.crownweather.com/, a weather source with which the station partners.

            Along with the news and weather, class cancellations will now be broadcast on the station. In the event that school is cancelled, the announcements will occur every hour. In the winter months, when cancellations become more frequent, they will be broadcast more often throughout the day. The station is in the process of attaining software that will enable them to automatically call the class cancellation number in the communications center and play the recording every two hours, similar to what WAGM sometimes does with their weather reports.

            Larry French, the station manager, looks forward to the positive effects the changes will have on the campus and the community. He is glad to see that the radio station is now a "service which is both informative and entertaining."

In addition to signs up on the campus advertising the recent changes with the radio station, French adds that the station has been doing a trivia contest where there is a question asked each day that listeners can have a chance to call in and give an answer to. The listener with the most correct answers by Friday wins a prize. With the game and the many improvements to WUPI, the station hopes to increase their audience size while becoming a more prominent member of the broadcasting community in Aroostook County.

If any listeners have suggestions or comments about the radio station, email French at larry@wupifm.com or stop in at the first floor of the Campus Center and tell the disk jockeys what you think.