Dozens of people came out in the middle of the afternoon to protest the sale of KPLU, including one man who drove from Tacoma.
In December, all these people came out in the middle of the afternoon to protest the sale of KPLU, including one man who drove up from Tacoma. Ansel Herz

Over the past eighteen days, supporters of public radio station KPLU have put their money where their mouths are, donating $1,032,517 to keep the station independent.

"We still have another six million dollars to raise by June 30th, but we’re off to a fast start," said KPLU general manager Joey Cohn, in a statement. "I want to offer my thanks to everyone who has pledged so far."

The station was set to be sold off by Pacific Lutheran University to the University of Washington and be absorbed into KUOW, but an outcry prompted UW to pull back and give listeners the chance to purchase the station instead. They need to raise $7 million by June 30 in order to compete with UW's bid.

The effort has received about $57,362 in donations per day so far since January 11, which means if the cash keeps pouring in at the current rate, the station will just barely meet the $7 million target by deadline. Learn more and donate here.