KPRI (91.3
FM) is a
community radio station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
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licensed to serve the community of
Pala, California, United States. The station is owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians. The station began operating under
program test authority in December 2010 and received its
broadcast license on February 3, 2011.
The station is branded and only referred to on-air as "Rez Radio 91.3". Rez Radio broadcasts a mixture of local public affairs programming and music for the community of Pala. The primary mission of Rez Radio is to be a contact point in case of an emergency to pass information to the listeners. The station has broadcast local softball games, Native American language lessons, and locally produced music, and other items of interest.
The station manager is John Fox, a veteran of the
San Diego, and
Los Angeles radio community at stations including B100, KCBQ, KEZY, KFWB, and KOLA.
History
The original push to build a radio station on the
Pala Indian Reservation came about in 2007 in response to the need for better communication throughout the reservation during the wildfires (see
Witch Fire) in San Diego. Pala Tribal Council leader
Kilma S. Lattin approached the Tribal Council with the plan and secured funding. The station received its original
construction permit
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
from the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on January 29,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
.
The station was assigned the
call sign KUUP by the
Federal Communications Commission on March 30, 2009.
While still under construction, the station was assigned new call sign KOPA on May 6, 2009.
The call sign was changed to KPRI on March 23, 2018 with the initials standing for "Kupa Pala Rez Indians". Kupa is the name of the ancestral home near Warner Springs of the majority of the Pala tribe.
The station applied to the FCC for its
license to cover on December 3, 2010, and the FCC accepted this application for filing on December 6, 2010.
This application was amended on January 12, 2011, and on February 3, 2011, the FCC issued the station its
broadcast license.
KOPA signed on as "Pala Rez Radio 91.3" on February 3, 2011.
Initially the station featured a mix of music, talk radio, and cultural programs. Lattin hosted a talk show called "The Pala Nation" and hired John Fox as station master.
During the first seven years on the air, programs originating on Rez Radio have won 19 San Diego Press Club awards including 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 in the "Best Radio Newscast" category for John Fox's Pala Today News at Noon (the category was retired after 2016) and 2013-2017 "Best Interview Program" by the Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site program with Gilbert Smith and Mike Bragg. In 2014, "Pala Life Past and Present", an interview, native music and archives show hosted by Pala tribal member Eric Ortega won first place in the talk/interview category and went on to win Best of Show for the radio division.
Select programming and IDs, including hourly time checks are spoken in Pa'enexily, the traditional language of the Cupeños.
See also
*
List of community radio stations in the United States
References
External links
Rez Radio 91.3 official websiteRez Radio streaming audio
{{San Diego Radio
Native American radio
PRI
Mass media in San Diego County, California
Radio stations established in 2011
2011 establishments in California
Community radio stations in the United States