KCLU increased its broadcast signal in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with the purchase of KIST-AM 1340 in the city of Santa Barbara. The acquisition by Thousand Oaks-based KCLU makes the station the only National Public Radio station on AM radio in Southern California. The $1.44 million cost will be reimbursed as part of a $7.5 million capital campaign to fund improvements to the station. The KCLU signal gets boosted to 650 watts from four watts in Santa Barbara, allowing the station to be heard from Rincon in Ventura County north to Goleta and Isla Vista. KCLU will broadcast over the AM signal in the next month pending notification from the Federal Communications Commission and will continue to be heard on 102.3 FM in Santa Barbara and part of Montecito.
