Dan Woods reflects on quarter-century tenure with SEMO’s KRCU

On Aug. 5, Dan Woods will mark 25 years as a full-time employee with Southeast Missouri public radio — the last 19 as general manager — and the Neelyville, Missouri, native said Monday he’s a happy broadcaster.

“I’ve always loved to come to work,” said Woods, 49. “I like making sure the stations are all on the air, that the signal sounds good and that we are putting out a quality product 24/7.”

Woods’ time at KRCU has seen the National Public Radio and classical music station expand to three frequencies.

When Woods started training as a Southeast undergraduate in 1991, there was only KRCU, located at 90.9 FM.

In 2006, the station’s programming expanded to a second station — KSEF, 88.9 FM — serving Farmington and St. Genevieve, Missouri.

KRCU general manager Dan Woods in a studio Monday on the Southeast Missouri State University campus in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

In May 2020, a third outlet — KDMC, 88.7 FM — was added serving Van Buren and Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

“In the early 1990s, there was a strategic plan developed to cover the university’s entire service region,” Woods explained, noting Southeast made application in late 1998 for additional frequencies.

A federal grant from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program, requiring a 25% match from SEMO, largely funded the initial expansion to the Farmington area.

Today, Southeast estimates 1.9 million people are able to access KRCU’s programming, which originates from the Serena building on SEMO’s Cape Girardeau campus.

His calling

KRCU general manager Dan Woods near a wall where guests sign their names Monday on the Southeast Missouri State University campus in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

“When I was young, I wanted to replace Dan Rather,” Woods said, adding his television dreams largely went into the rearview mirror after finding a home in radio.

“I almost quit radio shortly after I started in the summer of 1991,” he added. “I was shy and the technical aspects of the business were pretty daunting at the time.”

Woods worked briefly in commercial radio while at Southeast.

“I spent a semester known as ‘Seymour the Starving SEMO Student,’ and talked about community events as that character,” he explained.

After obtaining his SEMO degree in 1994, he was employed within two weeks after graduation at a public radio station in Savannah, Georgia.

Invited to return to Cape Girardeau 18 months later, Woods has been one of the primary voices of KRCU ever since.

“Back in the mid-1990s, we were still using reel-to-reel tapes but we’re heavily automated now,” he said, adding he believes the future of public broadcasting is bright.

“In so many communities, not this one, fortunately, newspapers have disappeared or have substantially cut back on local news generation,” Woods said.

“(NPR) stations have helped take up the slack when a void has developed across the country,” he said. “We don’t have anybody dedicated to covering local news right now, but we hope to get back to that.”

KRCU breaks from NPR’s program schedule to air classical music from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

“We have a lot of listeners who enjoy classical and it’s really not available anywhere else on the radio in our region,” Woods said.

Pandemic

KRCU staff largely worked from home for three months during the height of COVID-19 in 2020.

“Many listeners told us they couldn’t tell we were working from our homes, so that’s a positive thing,” said Woods, who noted fundraising in fiscal year 2021 “lost a little,” but because meeting KRCU’s $500,000 budget is not based around events, the pandemic’s financial impact was somewhat blunted.

“We’re pretty small with only four full-time employees (and) our listeners have been tremendously generous.”

Since 2016, Woods has been taping monthly TV interviews with various Southeast faculty and staff, including university president Carlos Vargas.

Personal

Woods met his wife, Charity, at SEMO’s Baptist Student Center while in college and the pair has been married 26 years. The couple has two children: Blake, 23, and Haley, 21.

The family likes to go camping, noting Sam A. Baker State Park is a favorite vacation spot. Riding bicycles, walking and spending time on the St. Francis River are particularly enjoyable.

“I tell (students) to do something they love because you’re going to do it every day — and if you can work with people you like, you’ll be a happy person,” Woods said.

Woods said he could retire in three years but has no plans to do so.

The KRCU general manager noted the station’s 50th anniversary is coming up in March 2026.

“At least I should stick around for that,” Woods said with a chuckle.