KCUR stays on air after quick move from longtime studios
Carlos Moreno / KCUR
A volunteer walks through a storage room in KCUR's longtime headquarters.
KCUR and Classical KC have moved after their university licensee announced that it would shut down their longtime headquarters.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City announced Dec. 22 that the building would close no later than Jan. 31 after “recent checks showed that the building’s foundation was settling at an accelerated rate,” said Stacy Downs, director of strategic communications for UMKC, in an email to Current. The university had planned to decommission the building for years but hadn’t set a date until those checks.
“That transition is on track and KCUR has moved its employees and broadcast operations out of the building and continues to be on the air serving listeners across the region,” Downs said. “… The settling would have had potential effects on mechanical systems, including the boiler and sewer lines, and could have rendered the building uninhabitable with minimum notice.”
The building was also home to some staff offices for KCRep, a repertory theater, and KC STEM Alliance, a nonprofit that provides STEM programs for regional schools, Downs said.
Downs added that UMKC worked with tenants to “help find new locations and assist with moving their belongings.”
KCUR’s transmitter and antenna are located elsewhere in Jackson County. A story on KCUR’s website detailed how staff and volunteers moved equipment to that location over a recent weekend during a snowstorm.
“We’ve had some hiccups and several people have had to learn how to do their jobs in completely different ways,” KCUR and Classical KC GM Sarah Morris told Current in an email. “That’s never easy, but if we hadn’t told our audience about the move, most of them would not have noticed.”
KCUR published a detailed FAQ on its website about the relocation. It says the building was built in 1949 and that KCUR had been there since 1985.
Morris said KCUR is in the final stages of solidifying a “short term solution” for staff and broadcast operations but could not share specifics until the deal is finalized.
About 70 people worked out of the now vacated offices, and staffers are working from home until further notice, Morris said.
“One of the only good things that came about as a result of the pandemic is that almost everyone learned to work from home and even after it was safe to return to the office environment, we maintained a hybrid work schedule,” Morris said.
Last year, the university license-holder for KCUR and Classical KC announced the stations would transition to being governed by independent nonprofits.
The separation is unrelated to the building move but complicates the situation because it prevents KCUR from looking for a permanent home, according to Morris.
Morris said the future nonprofit entity, governed by a new board, will need to approve a long-term home for the stations.
KCUR and Classical KC employees are still university staff, and the stations are still a university service, according to KCUR’s FAQ.
Morris said the stations’ staff have managed to have fun during the situation, “including some gallows humor.” In one example, staff who were granted permission left graffiti on interior walls, including a tombstone that read “RIP this building.”
“The KC community of volunteers and our public media colleagues from around the country have been tremendously supportive and helpful. We couldn’t have done this without all of their help,” Morris said. “We’ve had offers from around the region for engineering help and moral support. It’s been a humbling and inspiring experience even though it’s also been aggravating, stressful and exhausting.”
