KHSU

---

title: "KHSU" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["college-radio-stations-in-california", "radio-stations-established-in-1960", "california-state-polytechnic-university,-humboldt", "mass-media-in-humboldt-county,-california", "npr-member-stations"] description: "Public radio station in Arcata, California, United States" topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KHSU" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Public radio station in Arcata, California, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	KHSU
city	Arcata, California
area	North Coast
airdate
founded	1947, as a carrier current station
frequency	90.5 MHz
repeaters	See
format	Public radio
former_frequencies	91.5 MHz (1982–1984)
erp	8,500 watts
haat	459 m
class	C1
facility_id	28111
coordinates
callsign_meaning	Humboldt State University, former name of Cal Poly Humboldt
former_callsigns	KHSC (1960–1972)
owner	California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
operator	Capital Public Radio
webcast	Ways To Listen
website	KHSU
licensing_authority	FCC
::

| name = KHSU | logo = | city = Arcata, California | country = US | area = North Coast | branding = | airdate = | founded = 1947, as a carrier current station | frequency = 90.5 MHz
| repeaters = See | format = Public radio | former_frequencies = 91.5 MHz (1982–1984) | erp = 8,500 watts | haat = 459 m | class = C1 | facility_id = 28111 | coordinates = | callsign_meaning = Humboldt State University, former name of Cal Poly Humboldt | former_callsigns = KHSC (1960–1972) | owner = California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt | licensee = | operator = Capital Public Radio | sister_stations = | webcast = Ways To Listen | website = KHSU | affiliations = | licensing_authority = FCC

KHSU (90.5 FM) is an NPR-member radio station, licensed to Arcata, California, United States. The station is currently owned by California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. KHSU also holds licenses for additional stations running Radio Bilingüe and the BBC World Service.

KHSU provides the region encompassing Humboldt and Del Norte counties in California as well as portions of Trinity and Mendocino counties in California and Curry County, Oregon, with news, information and entertainment from public radio producers like National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI) and American Public Media (APM).

History

Early years

The station began as a radio classroom experiment in 1941 on the campus of what was then Humboldt State College, with broadcasts airing on KIEM for two months until the attack on Pearl Harbor. The radio program resumed in full in 1947, when KHSC signed on as a 10-watt carrier current station.

In January 1960, Humboldt State applied for the first non-commercial radio license on a California college or university campus. The new station signed on for the first time on October 17, operating at 10 watts on 90.5 FM. It became KHSU in 1972, shortly after Humboldt State was elevated to university status.

NPR membership

The station remained almost exclusively a student training ground until 1982, when it boosted its power to 100 watts and moved to 91.5 FM. At that point, the station began a gradual process of professionalization, picking up an NPR membership in 1984. It returned to 90.5 in October 1984, this time with an increased signal of 9,000 watts.

In 1988, facing the prospect of waiting five years to qualify for grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, KHSU shuffled its budget in order to enable it to hire the five full-time employees it needed for CPB funding within only five months of applying.

2019 staff cutbacks

On April 11, 2019, KHSU took a dramatic change in focus, personnel, and programming. All staff and volunteers were called to a 9 a.m. meeting, at which the memo below was given to those present, essentially firing of all but two staffers, though both later resigned. HSU administrators then enlisted HSU police officers to escort all those involved off campus. Door locks were changed, the station office was closed and phones disconnected, and KHSU began re-broadcasting programming from North State Public Radio in Chico, California. Volunteers, listeners, legislators and faculty members disagreed with HSU administrators' cutbacks, taken just a few days after a successful Fund Drive with no mention of the pending staff cuts. Subsequently, in 2021 HSU signed an agreement with Capital Public Radio, as NSPR was rendered a shell after CapRadio's operational takeover in 2020. NSPR currently operates KHSU stations from its offices in Chico.

Program services and transmitters

In addition to its main program service, KHSU offers the BBC World Service on two transmitters and Radio Bilingüe on one transmitter. These stations are not managed by CapRadio.

::data[format=table title="Rebroadcasters of KHSU"]

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Facility ID	ERP (W)	HAAT	Class	Transmitter coordinates	KHSG	KHSR	K204GA	K260BQ
89.9 FM	Garberville		75	779 m	A
91.9 FM	Crescent City		4,500	-59 m	B
88.7 FM	Ferndale, etc.		170		D
99.9 FM	Willow Creek		56		D
::

::data[format=table title="KHSU-BBC transmitters"]

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Facility ID	ERP (W)	HAAT	Class	Transmitter coordinates	KHSF	KHSQ
89.9 FM	Ferndale		300	538 m	A
107.7 FM	Trinidad		1,000	479 m	B
::

::data[format=table title="KHSU-Radio Bilingüe transmitters"]

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Facility ID	ERP (W)	HAAT	Class	Transmitter coordinates	KHSM
89.9 FM	Ferndale		184514	258 m	C3
::

References

References

1. "(UPDATE) Humboldt State Announces the Evisceration of KHSU".
2. "KHSU Gutted, Leaving Station's Future Uncertain".
3. [https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article229484364.html 'An audio gathering ground' is slashed: The purge of a public radio station]
4. "An Incalculable Loss".
5. "Reed Steps Down at KHSU".
6. "Last Employee Leaves KHSU".
7. "David Reed, One of the Two Employees Spared the Ax at KHSU, Resigns in Protest".
8. "(PHOTOS/ VIDEO) Former KHSU Employees, Volunteers and Supporters Rally on Arcata Plaza".
9. "Letter from Legislators: KHSU Gutting a 'Slap in the Face'".
10. "Good Night and Good Luck".
11. "HSU Partners with CapRadio to Manage KHSU".
12. "Radio Bilingüe".
13. "Khsu BBC".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::