Live, Local, and Commercial-Free

Listen now at 89.7FM, 88.1FM in Ithaca, or by using our web player.

Local News: April 24, 2024

Pilot Program in Tompkins Adds Emergency Responders- Emergency response times in Tompkins County should be getting shorter. State Senator Lea Webb was in Ithaca Tuesday to announce additional state funding for the county’s Rapid Medical Response program. The two-year pilot program operates three emergency response vehicles and employs nine EMTs. According to Webb, emergency response in many rural areas of New York is slow and first responders are stretched thin. According to the Ithaca Voice, the program started earlier this month, and has already shown results. On the program’s first day, County Administrator Lisa Holmes told the legislature a woman with a broken hip got medical help from the team in just seven…

Now Playing

Reload page to refresh.

Archive Player

Youth Farm Project Celebrates Earth Week with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project

By Felix Teitelbaum

Youth Farm Project participants Stella Sapp-Dietrich and Etienne Exantus and Ray Hage Assistant Director of Cornell’s Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project on WRFI.

Read More

CREATIVES: New Voices Literary Festival Preview with Raul Palma [AUDIO]

By Felix Teitelbaum

Listen to author Raul Palma in conversation with student organizers April Morales, Emily Trage, Riley Rhoder and Professor Jacob White. The 2024 New Voices Festival runs from April 24-26 at Ithaca College and in your community.  

Read More

Tune in, Turn on, and Take Part! Join Us for WRFI’s Spring “Fun” Drive and Be Part of this Community-Powered Radio Revolution!

By Felix Teitelbaum

What does community radio mean to you? We think this commercial-free, free-form, independent station helps make our listeners lives-and life in our communities-just a little better. We strive to make programing that opens ears, opens hearts, and leads us to ask important questions about our world. Even if it’s just to ask yourself, “What in…

Read More

LISTEN: Freedom of Expression at Cornell – Academic freedom

By Celia Clarke

This is the last of my three stories about freedom of expression at Cornell University this year. Here are links to the first and second stories. The academic theme at Cornell this year is “Freedom of Expression.”  In earlier stories, we reported about the general mood at Cornell around free speech, and students’ opinions about…

Read More

Latest from the WRFI News Team

Daily features and interviews from our community

Local News: May 1, 2024

By Felix Teitelbaum | May 1, 2024 |

Cornell Professors Condemn Student Suspensions On Tuesday, more than 325 Cornell professors signed an open letter condemning the University’s suspension of four students. The students were suspended for their role in the pro-Palestinian encampment on Cornell’s campus. The letter calls the suspensions “unwarranted and excessive.”  Meanwhile suspended undergraduate protestor Nick Wilson rejected a deal from…

Read More

Local News: April 30, 2024

By Felix Teitelbaum | April 30, 2024 | Comments Off on Local News: April 30, 2024

Chemung Sheriff’s Office Gets Boost for Door Breach Training The Chemung County Sheriff’s office has a new training tool. WETM reports that the Elmira-based manufacturer the Hilliard Corporation donated a reinforced door to the Sheriff’s Special Services Unit. The door will be used in training deputies in breaching locked, reinforced doors. The technique is used…

Read More

Local News: April 29, 2024

By Felix Teitelbaum | April 29, 2024 | Comments Off on Local News: April 29, 2024

More Suspensions for Cornell Protestors- The student encampment at Cornell remains in place. On Friday four students were temporarily suspended for their participation in the self-described “Liberation Zone.” According to the Ithaca Voice, Cornell administration announced Saturday that more students would be suspended and that referrals to human resources  are being made for staff and…

Read More

Local News: April 26, 2024

By Felix Teitelbaum | April 26, 2024 | Comments Off on Local News: April 26, 2024

Adjustments Expected to Ithaca Water Bills Ithaca property owners may face unexpected water bills starting this year. The city has relied on equipment to remotely read water meters since 2005. However, batteries in the equipment started to fail during the pandemic and were never replaced. This means that many bills have been based on estimated…

Read More