Wayne Bledsoe volunteered in 1980 to serve for six weeks as KUMR's interim bluegrass producer and host while the station searched for a replacement for the former host and Program Director, Mike Morgan, who had accepted the position of Director of Mississippi Public Radio. More than two decades later Wayne not only remains on the job, but his duties have been increased from two to six hours of bluegrass per week. "When I agreed to fill in for Mike Morgan, the sum total of my radio skills consisted of knowing how to turn a radio on and off. Those first few months were both challenging and terrifying, but the professionalism and patience of the regular KUMR staff soon brought about an improvement in my production skills and even more importantly, a boost in my self confidence. I never dreamed the ride would last this long, but it has been, and continues to be, exciting and personally rewarding. Without question the two greatest rewards have been the friendships I've established with KUMR listeners in south-central Missouri and having the opportunity to work with some of the most professional radio people in the country. Until you've worked with the KUMR staff on a regular basis, you just don't appreciate their level of expertise and professionalism. Even on bad days, it's fun being around the KUMR regulars."

Wayne holds a PhD from Michigan State University and is currently Chairman of the Department of History and Political Science at UMR. He teaches courses on Ancient Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages and his most recent publications deal with problems associated with "Globalization." He is into his second term as president of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations and for ten years he edited the journal, Comparative Civilizations Review.

While Wayne is an academic who likes all forms of music, his avocation is definitely bluegrass music. In addition to producing three bluegrass shows for KUMR, Wayne and his wife Deb, publish Bluegrass Now Magazine, which has circulation in all fifty states and forty-two foreign countries. Wayne serves on the Board of Directors for the International Bluegrass Music Association and he chairs the Program Committee and the Education Committee for the World of Bluegrass trade show.