Pittsburg State University has dropped most of its Classical and Jazz programming on 89.9 KRPS Pittsburg KS/Joplin MO moving to an all-Public News/Talk lineup.

Interim General Manager Fred Fletcher-Fierro told the university’s Gorilla Connection, “The switch was made based on listener trends. Our most listened-to hours every day are our morning news shows, NPR’s Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition Saturday and Sunday, followed up by our afternoon and evening news, All Things Considered, and Marketplace. So much news happens between the morning and the afternoon and we wanted to keep those listeners tuned in and think of KRPS as their NPR news source.”

Among the programs being added to the station’s weekday lineup are Here & Now, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The World, and an additional hour of All Things Considered.

KRPS is the first Public News/Talk station in the region. Joplin is also served by Missouri State University’s “Ozarks Public Radio” 91.1 KSMU Springfield via 98.9 K255AH Joplin with a mix of News/Talk, Classical and Jazz, while Southeastern Kansas and Northeastern Oklahoma can receive Oklahoma State University’s News/Talk/Alternative KOSU via 107.5 KOSN Ketchum OK.