Local Radio

I'm sure you have your doubts about the cultural offerings of someplace like Las Vegas. It's okay, most people do.

But even before I had moved here from the Los Angeles area, when I was only coming here for our annual pilgrimage (but that's another story entirely), I had managed to find the local NPR station in the Microtel that I mentioned previously. I didn't realize at that time how vital this would be.

Once I moved here, I discovered that this was a much more valuable find than I had thought.

Obviously when you move, you're a little . . . disoriented. You can't find things. You spend an hour looking for a computer cable, or cleaning supplies, or your other shoe.

But you find your clock radio, and you go up and down the dial, and then . . . you find the local NPR station.

And you're home.

That's how it felt for me here when I first arrived. There's something about NPR that's familiar and comforting, wherever you go. So I listened to Morning Edition, and that was good. But then I discovered that unlike anyplace else I've lived, they took the news station here 88.9 and separated it, so that there's also a classical music station at 89.7 .

This is great because if you want the classical music, there's that (it's very good to write by, so I remember that one). But there's also a larger range of stations that I would've thought. There's your Pop/Top 40, Rock, Soul, Jazz, Sports, Talk, Sports-Talk, Spanish-language, Oldies, Classic Rock, Electronic Dance, what I call the God Stations (which includes everything from pastors preaching to “inspirational”), and even local stations for UNLV and the local police. Some of these are online only stations, but you can listen live here.

But if you want both to know what's going on nationally, and to find out all the local happenings and so forth, you'll want to mostly keep your dial set to 88.9. Because after Morning Edition (which, if you don't listen to, where have you been?), you get KNPR's State of Nevada, followed by Talk of the Nation, and then The World. In other words, if you want to be well-informed, I have to say, Southern Nevada has one of the best radio stations I've ever run into. You can get the full schedule here and if you're interested in community activities, ways to help others, or maybe get some help yourself, there's a guide to all kinds of organizations here. 

 

In addition, you can find out something about HD Radio here, something they didn't have even in Southern California, nor in Philly when I left the area (although they have since gotten it: WHYY). They also offer a radio reading service for anyone who is visually impaired or just has trouble reading, they read newspapers, books, and magazines, which is cool. You need a special radio for this, apparently, but there's little (possibly no) cost.

So I guess what I'm saying is that though there's a better selection of stations here than in Los Angeles, in my own humble opinion, the local NPR station is probably the one cultural offering I would go so far as to say is not to be passed up, and it's well worth the small donation I make each year to be a member, even if you can't afford the cool premiums.

Oh, and just because I don't have any more photos this time around, here's a pic of the view from just going to pick up a pizza last night.