WAUS FM 90.7

Broadcasting at 90.7 FM with 50,000 watts of effective radiated power, this non-commercial station is owned by Andrews University and serves the Michiana region and the South Bend metropolitan area of southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana. The station carries an all-classical music format, supplemented by NPR News and BBC News at the top of most hours, with religious programming on weekends. The station signed on January 10, 1971, originally operating at 17,000 watts with Mike Mottler as station manager and Carsten Thomsen as operations director. Its origins, however, trace back to the early 1920s: Andrews University's predecessor institution, Emmanuel Missionary College, operated an experimental station with the call sign 8AZ beginning in 1921. That early broadcaster, which called itself "The Radio Lighthouse," aired religious and general programs that were reportedly received across Michigan and Indiana, and as far as Europe, Hawaii, and New Zealand. Financial pressures during the Great Depression forced the college to sell the station to John Fetzer, who relocated it to Kalamazoo. Planning for a new FM station resumed in 1967, funded through a community capital campaign led by Robert Upton of the Whirlpool Corporation and a substantial contribution from John Fetzer. The new station launched on January 10, 1971, and its power was increased to 50,000 watts by 1980. A mobile app supported by member contributions makes the station accessible on Apple and Android devices.