For the third year in a row, Interlochen Public Radio has been named “Public Radio Station of the Year” by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. The award recognizes IPR for excellence in broadcasting among public radio stations with budgets under $2 million. It was presented at the association’s Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference on March 3.
IPR received six individual Broadcast Excellence awards, including best of category awards for “Hard News and Current Events,” “Mini-Documentary or Series,” “Newscast,” “News Special or Public Affairs Program” and “Community Involvement.” The community involvement award recognized IPR for a popular series of “working stories” that profiled a variety of Northern Michigan workers, including a portrait-painter, an Elvis tribute artist and an old fashioned milk bottle delivery person.
“This recognition is a credit to the entire team that makes IPR possible: a skilled and passionate staff, devoted listeners and donors, and strong ownership and support from Interlochen Center for the Arts,” said Thom Paulson, IPR general manager and Interlochen Center for the Arts vice-president for media. “It’s a genuine source of pride to serve this community with such excellent programming and consistently strong reporting from our staff.”
The latest awards come just as Interlochen breaks ground on a new broadcast tower in the Manistee-Luddington area, the first phase of a planned expansion project that will triple the geographic coverage area for IPR’s award-winning news service. The Manistee station, WLMN 89.7 FM, is expected to be on air by June 1. The second phase of the project, scheduled for next year, will extend IPR News Radio service to the Petoskey-Harbor springs area, mirroring the existing coverage area for IPR’s classical music service. When complete, the expansion will allow Interlochen Public Radio to serve all of northwest Michigan with both a classical music and a 24-hour news service.