Station History

WMPG originally went on the air as a carrier current station in 1970 before becoming a licensed station in 1973 on 91.1 MHz with 10 watts of power. In 1988, the station upgraded its signal to 1.11 kilowatts and shifted frequency to 90.9 MHz. A 50 watt translator on 104.1 MHz located on Portland’s Munjoy Hill went on the air in 1999.

In 2008, WMPG was granted a construction permit to increase power to 4.5 kilowatts and move transmitting facilities from the Gorham campus of the University of Southern Maine to Blackstrap Mountain in Falmouth. After a lengthy fund-raising effort and a $120,000 US Department of Commerce grant, WMPG started broadcasting from the new transmitter site on December 14, 2011. With this upgrade it was decided in the Fall of 2015 to sell the 104.1 frequency which was purchased by the local NPR affiliate MPBN.

Today, WMPG is much more than Southern Maine Community Radio; our reach is global, our 200+ volunteer staff is totally committed, and our diverse programming has never been better!

Interview with Howard Allen

40 years ago Howard Allen was attending USM, then known as UMPG, and was instrumental in creating WMPG! Thanks Howard! On 4/23/14 we had a live broadcast event and community gathering to celebrate the station’s 40th Birthday. Howard attended and was interviewed by Program Director, Jessica Lockhart.

Click here to listen to the Howard Allen interview