The public radio station at the University of Wisconsin—River Falls, WRFW-FM, turns 50 this year.
Hundreds of former student staff and participating faculty are returning to campus this fall for a birthday party and reunion to help launch the station into its next decades. The celebration is scheduled for Nov. 3.
The station, known fondly to staffers over the years as “the little station that could,” debuted on Nov. 4, 1968 at a total cost of $9,000. Today, WRFW’s service area includes Pierce and St. Croix counties and the eastern Twin Cities metro. It affiliated with Wisconsin Public Radio in 1998 to help extend the network’s service into far western Wisconsin.
As a birthday present, the university just completed total renovation of the station’s facilities in North Hall, the campus administration building.
