Public radio station KMST finished its eight-day fall membership drive Saturday, Oct. 10, surpassing its monetary goal of $60,000 and adding more than 90 new members.

The station reached its goal early during the 7 p.m. hour during the popular public radio show “Bluegrass for a Saturday Night” hosted by Wayne Bledsoe. KMST’s new and renewing members from south-central Missouri as well as Internet listeners as far away as Anchorage, Alaska, were included among this year’s investors.

“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,” says Jim Sigler, KMST general manager. “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.’

“Although we’re still tallying the results, it’s clearly evident that the recent programming changes are well received by listeners and members,” adds Sigler. “Their input is vital to the station’s ongoing effort to fine tune its broadcast schedule to serve the diverse tastes of KMST listeners.”

In addition to raising funds for the station, KMST also raised nearly $3,000 for the Fill a Ford for the Holidays project developed by Denny Ford Lincoln Mercury in Rolla. Phelps County Bank gave a $15 donation to the Fill a Ford project for every person who phoned in a pledge during the drive; no station dollars were used towards the project.

“It’s important that KMST does its part to give back to the community it serves,” says Sigler. “We feel privileged to have been able to partner with two outstanding organizations to make this a success.”

KMST relies on strong listener financial support to cover the cost of its programming. Member support and underwriting make up approximately 30 percent of the station’s budget. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Missouri University of Science and Technology are the other two largest supporters of the station.

In addition, KMST receives support from more than 50 businesses that underwrite programming and dozens of volunteers who answer phones during the drive.

KMST is a 100,000-watt non-commercial public radio station. 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 and around the Rolla area (96.3 FM in Lebanon) and streams its programs online at www.kmst.org.