From my inbox:

Beginning March 7, 2011, WCBU will expand its offerings for Peoria area public radio listeners. The station will offer all news, information and entertainment programming on 89.9 FM, and expanded classical music to be aired on its digital frequency, WCBU 89.9 HD2.

“We believe this is a win-win for our current listeners,” says WCBU Executive Director Thomas Hunt. “It also gives us an opportunity to increase membership and do an even better job of meeting the needs of our audience.”

“We have heard from many members who have asked for additional news and information programming,” says Shelli Dankoff, President of the WCBU Advisory Board. “We’ll be able to give listeners even more opportunities to hear different viewpoints and to learn and discover new things. We are excited about what this means for our listeners.”

The station will continue to air popular shows like Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and will expand information and National Public Radio (NPR) programming — adding new shows like BBC News, the Diane Rehm Show, Fresh Air and The World, all aired commercial-free. Listeners will also continue to enjoy entertainment programs like Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! and local programs like Outside the Horseshoe, Out and About, theater reviews and more. Local music programs, such as Music from the Heartland and Jazz from the Hilltop will be heard on both WCBU and WCBU HD2. The station will also maintain its dedicated newsroom and reporting staff for local and regional news coverage.

The change will also allow WCBU to offer central Illinois’ classical music listening audience more music in a superior format: Digital radio, which delivers CD-quality audio with crystal clear reception. Digital listeners can tune in on a digital radio or listen online at www.wcbufm.org, with minimal interruption and the familiar voices of WCBU on-air personalities.

“We’re committed to being stewards of art and culture in our region, giving the Peoria-area community access to many viewpoints and classical music programming,” says Hunt. “These format changes will help us deliver on that commitment.”

“As the Internet continues to expand our broadcast world, and with our move to digital broadcasting in 2007, the launch of WCBU2 provides a 24 hour opportunity to serve more listeners by consolidating all news programming and all music programming to their unique streams available on air and on-line all the time,” added Dankoff.

The new WCBU and WCBU HD2 program schedules and more information on HD radios will be available on the station’s web site www.wcbufm.org.

WCBU is the public radio service of Bradley University, and has served listeners in Peoria and central Illinois for more than 40 years. The station broadcasts daily from studios on the Bradley University campus.

You can see the new schedule for WCBU here, and the new WCBU “HD2” schedule here.