KUAF 2025 Year in Review
A Year of Transformation, A Year of Community
2025 marked a turning point for KUAF. With the elimination of federal funding, we became 100% community-supported—and that shift revealed something powerful: this radio station has always belonged to the people who listen to it.
But this year was about more than survival. It was about transformation—from a legacy broadcaster into vital civic infrastructure, from a station people feel obligated to support into a cultural platform they actively choose because it makes Northwest Arkansas and the Ozarks a better place to live.
Here's some of what we accomplished together this year.
Milestones Worth Celebrating
35 Years of Ozarks At Large
Kyle Kellams marked 35 years of hosting Ozarks At Large, making it one of the longest-running local public radio programs in the region. Kyle's steady presence and deep knowledge of the Ozarkshasmade OAL essential listening for generations of community members.
40 Years as an NPR Member Station
2025 marked four decades of KUAF's partnership with NPR, bringing you essential local, state, national, and international reporting that helps the Ozarks stay informed.
National Recognition for Innovation
KUAF earned selection into two of the most competitive programs in public media—validation of our strategic vision and commitment to serving our community in new ways:CPB-Poynter Digital Transformation Program: One of only a handful of public radio stations nationwide selected for this intensive program focused on sustainable digital strategies and audience development.
PRX Podcast Accelerator: Chosen for this pioneering 10-week partnership using audience-centered, design-focusedmethodologyto strengthen our podcast strategy and create more impactful content.
These national partnerships positioned KUAF to demonstrate how regional public radio can thrive in the digital age while remaining deeply rooted in community service.
Local Journalism That Matters
Our Comprehensive Coverage in 2025
KUAF identifies important community issues through ongoing contact with public officials and area leaders, in addition to KUAF listeners who regularly contact the station with ideas and suggestions. Our newsroom produces long-form, in-depth reports on the topics that matter most to our region.
By the Numbers:
- 1,379 original local stories produced across four quarters
- 250+ editions of Ozarks at Large broadcast
- 26 hours of live local programming each week
- 150+ Community Spotlights highlighting nonprofits and community organizations
Our signal reaches across Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas River Valley, eastern Oklahoma, and southern Missouri—covering dozens of communities across a tri-state region.
Major Coverage Areas(Q4 2024 through Q3 2025)
Healthcare & Public Health (158 stories) - From the launch of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine to telehealth expansion, maternal health initiatives, and mental health services—our newsroom provided essential coverage of healthcare transformation across our region.
Government & Policy(190 stories) - Comprehensive reporting on local, state, and federal policy decisions affecting our communities, including elections, municipal governance, and legislative actions.
Arts & Culture (326 stories combined) - Extensive coverage of the vibrant creative community that makes our region distinctive—from gallery openings to theater productions, from music festivals to literary events.
Education & Workforce Development (98 stories) - In-depth reporting on K-12 education, higher education initiatives, workforce training programs, and the challenges facing students and educators across our region.
Economic Development & Business (107 stories) -Coverage of regional economic growth, business development, entrepreneurship, and the economic challenges facing working families.
Environment & Conservation (58 stories) - Reporting on environmental challenges and conservation efforts, from watershed protection to climate adaptation.
Housing & Community Development (26 stories) -Critical coverage of housing affordability, urban development, and the challenges of managing rapid regional growth.
Community & Recreation (115 stories combined) - Celebrating the organizations, events, and initiatives that bring our communities together and strengthen social bonds.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety (33 stories) - Coverage of law enforcement, criminal justice reform, emergency services, and public safety issues.
History & Heritage (62 stories) - Exploring the stories, sites, and traditions that connect us to our region's past.
SelectInvestigations & In-Depth Series
Child Poverty & Social Services: Matthew Moore's groundbreaking reporting brought critical attention to gaps in Arkansas's social safety net and the families struggling to navigate it.
Homelessness Crisis: Daniel Caruth's ongoing coverage of our region's growing homelessness crisis provided essential context and human stories, including in-depth reporting on 7hills Homeless Center and local response efforts.
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine: Jack Travis followed the launch and development of Northwest Arkansas's new medical school, exploring implications for healthcare access and workforce development.
Regional Growth & Development: Our newsroom tracked housing affordability challenges, infrastructure needs, and the rapid changes reshaping Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
Elections & Civic Engagement: Comprehensive coverage of local, state, and national elections kept voters informed about candidates and issues. We partnered with the League of Women Voters to host Fall 2024 mayoral candidate forums in Fayetteville, Rogers, and Bentonville—drawing over 450 in-person attendees and reaching 30,000 more through broadcast.
Ozarks At Large: Your Guide to the Region
Through Ozarks At Large, a daily news magazine radio program, Kyle Kellams, Matthew Moore, Daniel Caruth, Sophia Nourani, Jack Travis, and several regular contributors kept you connected to the people, places and events that make the Ozarks special.
2025 Highlights
Ozarks At Large Live Tour: Brought the show on the road with successful events in Bentonville and Springdale—connecting directly with listeners across our coverage area and creating spaces for community dialogue. In 2026,we hope to expand the live series to include additional cities across our vast coverage area.
Extensive Arts & Culture Coverage: Artist interviews, venue spotlights, concert previews, gallery openings, and cultural event coverage throughout the year—celebrating the creative spirit that defines our region.
Community Spotlights: In-depth profiles of local organizations, grassroots leaders, and community builders. From mutual aid networks to arts collectives, from local business owners to nonprofit innovators, these stories illuminate the people doing the daily work of building community across the Ozarks. More than150 Community Spotlights aired during Morning Edition in 2025, ensuring nonprofits and civic organizations could reach engaged audiences.
Digital Growth & Innovation
As part of the Poynter-CPB Digital Transformation Program, KUAF invested in meeting you where you are.
Milestones
- Newsletter subscribers grew beyond 10,000for the first time—a substantial increase that positions KUAF among the fastest-growing news operations in Arkansas
- $40,000 in revenue attributionfrom digital initiatives exceeded targets
- Enhanced website analyticshelp us better understand and serve our audience
- Social media engagement expandedour reach to new and younger audiences
- Digital-first storytellingpositioned KUAF for sustainable engagement beyond traditional broadcast
This wasn't just technical achievement—itrepresenteda fundamental reimagining of how public radio serves communities, building systems that turn casual listeners into engaged community members.
Community Building: The B.R.I.D.G.E. Framework
We developed and implemented our B.R.I.D.G.E. framework (Belong, Reflect, Inform, Digital, Gather, Evolve)—a strategic approach that transforms how KUAF builds community in one of America's fastest-growing regions.
Welcoming Initiative
Creating spaces where newcomers—whether from California, India, or rural Arkansas—could find belonging. In a region where 40% of residents have arrived in the past decade, this community-building work addresses one of Northwest Arkansas's most pressing challenges: turning residents into neighbors.
Partnership with the Aspen Institute's Weave Project
Our work was recognized nationally by the Aspen Institute's Weave initiative, which identifies media organizations building social capital. In November, KUAF helped convene"Weave the People: The Joy of Mutuality," bringing together diverse voices to celebrate connection and shared purpose. In 2026, we'll continue this partnership with Aspen Institute funding to cover community weavers across our region.
Innovative Community Partnerships
KUAF doesn't just report on the community—we're part of it.
New Partnerships in 2025
- CACHE/The Medium: Co-funding partnership supporting regional storytelling and artistry—demonstratingnew models for mission-aligned support.
- Engage NWA: Collaboration on Welcoming Week NWA, focusing on community service, civic engagement, and belonging for newcomers and longtime residents alike.
- Women's Giving Circle: Awarded nearly $20,000investment to fund 2026 reporting about women's well-being in Arkansas.
These pioneering co-funding arrangements generated nearly $40,000in mission-aligned support—organizations investing in KUAF because our journalism advances their community-building goals.
Community Events & Initiatives
- Giving Tuesday Nonprofit Support: KUAF gave back by offering a $1,000 underwriting package to one lucky nonprofit. Community members voted through our newsletter and social media, with every donor entry going into a drawing—demonstratingour commitment to amplifying nonprofit voices.
- Holiday Open House: Annual community gathering
- Giving Tree Drive:Benefiting Peace At Home Family Shelter (2024) and7hills Homeless Center (2025)
- Community Coffee Tour: Events in Berryville, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, and Springdale—strengthening bonds and ensuring our programming reflects diverse voices
You Stepped Up: Community Response
The elimination of federal funding required KUAF to ask more of our community than ever before—and your response has been remarkable.
Leadership Support
Lynn and Joel Carver stepped forwardduring our emergency BridgeTheGap fundraiser with a$100,000 matching grant challenge—a transformative investment that inspired others to give at unprecedented levels. The community met this challenge, demonstrating the deep value you place on KUAF's news, information and community service.
Growing Support Base
Individual sustaining donors grew significantly in a single year—with estimates suggesting growth fromapproximately 2,600to over 3,400 monthly supporters. These monthly sustainers provide crucial predictable revenue that enables planning and stability.What It Means
Your response is amazing and deeply gratifying. It demonstrates that KUAF matters—that our journalism, our community-building, and our role as regional connector are valued and essential. This community support during our first several months as 100% listener-funded shows what's possible when we work together.
Music & Specialty Programming
Despite the elimination of federal funding, KUAF not onlymaintainedall existing programming but actually expanded our offerings in 2025—demonstrating our commitment to serving diverse audiences across our region.
KUAF brings you a wide range of voices and sounds, celebrating both national public radio excellence and local musical talent.
New in 2025
Sunday Night Music Block: A completely new evening programming showcase featuring varied musical genres and artists, adding hours of curated music discovery to our schedule.We added national programs Tiny Desk Radio, All Songs Considered, Alt.Latino, Jazz NightInAmericaand The Brazilian Hour.
Natural States Radio: Moved to FM lineup, bringing morelocally-focused music programming to the region.
KUAF Live Sessions: Music video performances featuring local and touring acts, creating a visual archive of the Ozarks musicsceneandshowcasingregional talent on NPR.com and KUAF’s YouTube and Instagramplatforms.
Growing the Next Generation
KUAF serves as a training ground for future journalists and media professionals:
- 15 Student Interns and Volunteers: University of Arkansas students and community members gained hands-on experience in reporting, production, and broadcast operations
- Professional Development: Our newsroom provides mentorship and real-world experience for emerging journalists
- Community Engagement: Volunteers supported our mission through on-air hosting, technical support, and special projects
Center for Community News (CCN) Champion
KUAF was recognized as one of62Center for Community News Championsnationwide for our work to develop sustainable student journalism partnerships. Through this year-long program, KUAF established a structured collaboration with the University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media and the student-run Razorback Reporter.
The partnership model allows students who produce locally-focused stories—already reviewed by faculty—to be invited on-air to discuss their reporting in NPR-style reporter two-ways with KUAF hosts. This approach provides students with broadcast experience while expanding KUAF's local coverage, particularly in underserved rural communities.Clint Schaff was a 2025 CCN Fellow, and Senior Producer Matthew Moore is working with journalism faculty Kevin Kinder to develop this collaboration.
Community Education & Engagement
OLLI at University of Arkansas: KUAF presented "Public Radio Reimagined" to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, sharing our vision for transformation and community engagement. The session sparked lively discussion about public radio's future and generated spontaneous donations ranging from $120 to $5,500—demonstratingthe power of authentic community connection.
Listening Lab Initiative: KUAF continued the Listening Lab, an ongoing project that gives community members a voice and trains the next generation of audio storytellers—where veterans share their service stories, artists explain their creative process, and everyday people with extraordinary experiences become part of our region's collective memory. Through a One Day, One U campaign, we raised funds to support this initiative. In partnership with Engage NWA,we supportedWelcoming WeekNWAwhose 2025 program helped prepare the next generation to lead and build their futures in Northwest Arkansas.
Looking Ahead: 2026 Priorities
From Broadcaster to Cultural Platform
As we enter 2026, KUAF isbeginning toreimaginewhat public radio can be for Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas River Valley andall ofthe Ozarks. The elimination of federal fundingdidn'tjust create a budget challenge—it created an opportunity to transform KUAF from a legacy institution into vital civic infrastructure that serves as the cultural connective tissue for our entire region.
Our vision: KUAFasa regional cultural hub that knitsits regiontogether through local news and information, music discovery, events and gatherings, and authentic community conversation.
Strategic Priorities for Growth
Expanding Local Coverage - Maintaining our deep reporting on education, healthcare, housing, and economic development—while expanding rural reporting across our entire listening region. We're also exploring ways to add local news to drive-time news breaks, ensuring you get regional context during your morning and evening commutes.
Dimensionalizing Our Service - KUAF must grow beyond traditional broadcasting to meet audiences where they are. This means:
- Enhanced podcasting and digital content that extends our reach
- Live events and community gatherings that create tangible connections
- Mixed-format programming that balances essential news with music discovery and cultural curation
- Regional partnerships that position KUAF as Northwest Arkansas's cultural hub
Expanding Physical Presence - Making KUAF visible and accessible across the region through potential studio spaces in Bentonville,exploring anddeepening partnerships with venues like Crystal Bridges, The Momentary, and Walton Arts Center, and creating more opportunities for face-to-face community engagement.
Building Sustainability - Growing our base of monthly sustainers and major donors while developing diverse revenue streams—events, sponsorships tied to outcomes, merchandise, and third-party production partnerships. Without sustainable revenue models that extend beyond annual fundraising, it's difficult to maintain current service levels, let alone expand to serve new and younger audiences.
Strengthening Digital Connection - Continuing to innovate in how we deliver news and engage with audiences online and on-air, building on our successful digital transformation work with enhanced analytics, expanded newsletter reach, and improved app functionality.
Investing in People - Attracting and retaining talent through competitive compensation, expanding our university partnerships for workforce development, and building capacity that matches our mission. Quality content requires adequate resources and sustainable staffing.
Fostering Community - Creating more opportunities for listeners to connect with each other and with KUAF through events and collaborative storytelling—turning residents into neighbors and building the shared cultural identity that makes the Ozarks distinctive.
The Stakes
This isn't about keeping the lights on—it's about unleashing KUAF's potential to serve an entire region. In a fractured media landscape, local, authentic, human-centered voices matter more than ever. The question facing our region isn't whether KUAF survives, but whether our region thrives as a connected community—and whether KUAF can play the role it was built to play: cultural curator, community convener, and voice of authentic local identity.
Thank You
None of this happens without you. Every story. Every broadcast. Every community connection. It's all possible because you believe in the power of independent, community-supported journalism.The achievements documented here reflect the power of sustained partnership. With consistent support from listeners like you and foundational partners throughout our region, KUAF maintained excellence while pursuing innovation, served our existing audience while reaching new communities, and honored our 50-year legacy while adapting to public media's evolving landscape.
As we head into 2026, we're grateful for your partnership and excited about what we'll build together.
KUAF 91.3 FM
9 S. School Avenue
Fayetteville, AR 72701
KUAF.com
479-575-2556