A Lawrence radio station is dropping much of its national sports programming to turn its attention to local news and talk alongside a handful of national personalities, all while retaining the same focus on sports involving Kansas University and area high schools.

The programming changes at KLWN will take full effect Dec. 27. That’s when the Christmas music that’s been running since the day after Thanksgiving — in place of national ESPN programming — will be replaced with a new lineup of local talk shows, enhanced news reporting and talk programs featuring a “diversity” of national talk-show personalities, said Hank Booth, incoming station manager.

The shift is associated with the pending sale of the Zimmer Radio Group’s Lawrence stations — KLWN and KLZR (The Lazer) — to Jerry Zimmer, a member of family that owns the Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based radio group.

Booth, who sold the stations to Zimmer Radio Group in 1998, said the programming changes reflected a new game plan for the Lawrence market.

“In Lawrence, Kansas, you can sit and listen to sports on a number of different channels,” said Booth, who emphasized that the station would continue to focus on local coverage of KU, high schools, Royals and Chiefs. “Local sports is a whole lot different than a national sports syndicated talk show that could be talking about hockey one minute and NBA the next minute and doesn’t really have much to do with what’s going on in Lawrence, Kansas, in terms of the world of sports.”

The precise mixture of local and national talk shows remains in negotiations, although Kim Murphree — technical services manager for the Lawrence Police Department — already has signed on as host of a morning talk show six days a week.

As for national talkers, don’t expect Rush Limbaugh to dominate.

“It’s not going to be a whole series of conservative to ultra-conservative talkers,” Booth said. “I’m looking to try to find a good mix of talk shows that cover a lot of different areas of interest and cover a lot of different political persuasions — kind of an eclectic … kind of mix. Lots and lots of diversity. Lots of diversity, but we haven’t settled on anything yet.”

Booth said there were “no plans for immediate changes” at The Lazer, the FM station that features pop music.

Booth, whose father founded KLWN in 1951, returns to KLWN full time in mid-December, after two years leading Kansas Wildscape Foundation.