Eastern Washington University has agreed to sell its 75-year-old jazz radio station, 89.5 KEWU-FM, to Oldies Preservation Society, a Spokane nonprofit, for $510,000 in cash and $300,000 in advertising credit. 

The sale of the KEWU license and equipment is pending a public comment period and regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

The noncommercial, educational jazz radio station has been managed and operated by EWU students, faculty, and staff since it first hit the airwaves in 1950.

“Our agreement with the Oldies Preservation Society ensures that the station’s legacy will live on through their dedication to classic music,” says EWU President Shari McMahan in a press release, adding the sales could lead to "exciting opportunities to foster student creativity and provide hands-on learning experiences in new and innovative ways.”

The sale of KEWU enables EWU to invest in media opportunities that align with the modern media landscape and the career goals of students, according to the release. These opportunities will include facilities for podcasting, sound recording, music recording, and other skills taught through KEWU and the school’s film and digital media program.

“We have this space that’s been dedicated to the radio station … but we could rededicate this space to things that students are currently interested in,” says Pete Porter, general manager of KEWU and a professor in the EWU Fine & Performing Arts Department.

Under the ownership of Oldies Preservation Society, the radio station will be completely separate from EWU.

The nonprofit, which was founded in 2018, currently buys airtime on the 107.1 signal for its KOOL 107.1 station.

“The mission is to preserve this oldies music that we basically say is from the first 30 years of rock 'n’ roll,” says Bob Anthony Fogal, a board member of Oldies Preservation Society. “What is going to happen is once the FCC approves the transfer, then all of the programming that is on 107.1 will move over to 89.5.”

The nonprofit won't retain the KEWU call letters, Fogal says. The new station will operate as KOOL 89.5 and KOOL Oldies and will apply for new call letters.

EWU is considering the possibility of setting up an online-only streaming station.

“KEWU is going to reform and reshape, and we’ll see what the future holds,” Porter says.

EWU announced in 2023 that it would discontinue operations of the radio station as part of a phase-out plan. The station continued to broadcast in hopes of finding a buyer.

Originally a traditional, free-form student college radio station, KEWU evolved in 1986 when it increased its transmitter output from 100 watts to 10,000 watts and adopted a straight-ahead jazz format—featuring big band, swing, bop, and contemporary smooth jazz.

The range of the station’s signal extends west past Grand Coulee; north to Lake Pend Oreille and nearly to the Canadian border; east to Fourth of July Pass and Kellogg, Idaho; and south just past Pullman, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho. 

“I was really thrilled that we were able to keep it local,” says Porter. “This is an amazing outcome.”