Public radio station KMST at Missouri S&T begins its Fall Membership Drive at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, with its popular bluegrass program, “Bluegrass for a Saturday Night.” The drive runs through the following Sunday, Oct. 11.

The goal for this fall’s membership drive is $60,000. “Dollars that come from listeners and area business underwriters comprise the largest component of support for KMST programming and operations,” says KMST General Manager Jim Sigler. “We understand that listeners tune in to public radio because of the unique diversity of our locally produced music programs and to stay well informed on political, social and economic changes. With this in mind, we enhanced our programming this summer by adding an extra hour of ‘Morning Edition’ each weekday, as well as the nationally popular ‘Diane Rehm Show.’

“To date, the programming changes have been well received, and we look forward to gathering more data from members during this fall drive,” Sigler says.

During the KMST drive, pledges may be made by calling 573-341-4386 in the Rolla area, or toll-free at 888-776-5678. Listeners also may pledge online at KMST’s website, www.kmst.org. Premiums will be available for various levels of pledging.

KMST is a 100,000-watt non-commercial public radio station that relies on strong listener financial support to cover the cost of its programming and operations. Licensed to the Curators of the University of Missouri, KMST offers a mixed format of news from National Public Radio, nationally and locally produced talk shows, and a wide range of music, including classical, jazz, acoustic folk, blues, big band, Celtic, bluegrass and Caribbean. KMST is located at 88.5 FM in the Rolla area and 96.3 FM in Lebanon and online at www.kmst.org.