It's one of those chores, like changing your car's oil or rotating tires. It's not glamorous, but it is required to keep your car operating in tip-top shape. We're talking about radio tower maintenance. Painting, to be specific. Not only is it a good idea for maintaining and prolonging the life of the tower, it's required by law! We last painted our tower on the KU campus in Lawrence in 2007, so it's been a minute. The Federal Aviation Administration working with the Federal Communications Commission require owner\operators of communications towers to keep them properly lighted and painted. The specific alternating color bands of aviation orange and white along with the red beacons at night warn aircraft to stay away. As the paint fades, it gets harder to see, making it a hazard to aviation. It is time we freshen our tower's paint. This is KPR's biggest tower, serving Lawrence, Topeka and Kansas City.

Your gift today will help Kansas Public Radio adhere to the safety standards required to maintain a consistent signal to our listeners, and give our engineers a cushion for future tower maintenance, which includes anything from changing lights or resolving any number of technical issues.