Premieres Monday, January 14 - Three chances to catch the hour-long show each weekday: at 9 a.m. on 90.5 WKAR, noon on AM/870, and again at 6 p.m. on 90.5.
Coming to mid-Michigan airwaves on Monday: an all-new radio program focusing on what's happening right here in Mid-Michigan. Current State, with WKAR’s Mark Bashore, will share the fascinating stories all around us on subjects ranging from technology, business, arts, entertainment and sports, politics, education and agriculture.
Current State premieres at 9 a.m. Monday, January 14, on 90.5 WKAR. Listeners have three chances to catch the hour-long show each weekday: at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., on 90.5 WKAR, and also on AM/870 at noon.
The show will be hosted by radio veteran Mark Bashore, well-known to WKAR listeners as mid-Michigan host of All Things Considered.
"Current State will have a mid-Michigan focus, but we want our segments to explore every nook and cranny of the area," says Bashore. "Not just political and economic stories, but music, history, books, architecture, travel, performance. Everything is on the table."
"With WKAR being located right on the MSU campus and just blocks away from the State Capitol, Current State has ready access to amazing talent and expertise on any number of fields," he adds.
Current State will deliver crisp, provocative and timely content -- essential listening for those who want to be in the know. Each show will feature one or two in-depth stories as well as daily news updates. Many segments will feature in-studio guests.
Current State is the third new radio program launched by WKAR Radio station manager Peter Whorf since his arrival at WKAR in August.
"WKAR and our listeners identified and agreed on a need for a program like Current State, a daily radio news magazine of essential listening for mid-Michigan," says Whorf. "The program represents WKAR's renewed commitment to hyper-local stories, conversation and reporting, while following regional, national and global issues and events that have an impact on the mid-Michigan and Great Lakes regions."
"We're also eager for our listeners' suggestions," says Bashore. "We want Current State to be informative, insightful and fun."
Listeners with ideas for the program may contact the producers at currentstate@wkar.org.
Joe Linstroth, who recently joined WKAR from WBEZ in Chicago, is the show's producer and will also report segments. WKAR sports director and "AM/870 SportsTalk" host Earle Robinson will add his insight into mid-Michigan sports segments.
Current State Weekend, hosted by WKAR's Emanuele Berry, begins January 19, airing Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at noon on 90.5 WKAR. The weekend edition will include encore reports from throughout the week plus timely segments focusing on arts and culture.
Also beginning Monday, WKAR's Brad Walker joins All Things Considered as the mid-Michigan host.
Production of Current State is made possible by WKAR listeners with underwriting support from
Fluke Hearing, Liberty Coin Service, MSU Alumni Association, and the MSU Federal Credit Union, with in-kind support from Lansing City Pulse and the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce.
WKAR is part of Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts & Sciences and includes WKAR Radio, WKAR-TV, WKAR.org, WKAR Radio Reading Service and WKAR Ready To Learn Service. WKAR is supported in large part by listener and viewer contributions with additional support from Michigan State University and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.