Rhode Island Public Radio cut its ties with Boston University and WBUR Sept. 1, making it the first locally owned and operated public radio station in Rhode Island.

After being operated under WBUR for 10 years, WRNI has been approved for independent operation, but it is still waiting for formal approval from the Rhode Island attorney general to become fully financially and operationally independent, WBUR General Manager Paul La Camera said.

“If public radio was going to reach its full breadth of service [in Rhode Island], it needed to be locally owned and operated,” La Camera said.

WBUR will continue to provide programming and consulting support over the next five years, he said.

Prior to BU’s involvement, Rhode Island was one of only two states without NPR broadcasting, La Camera said.

“The university and WBUR took pride in being principle players in bringing public radio to Rhode Island,” La Camera said. “The university made a tremendous contribution to bringing [public] radio to the state.”

Previously, under the operation of The WBUR Group, the station’s signal was not strong enough to reach listeners in southern or western Rhode Island, according to the WRNI website.

WRNI has additionally purchased 102.7 FM, increasing the station’s reach and bringing NPR to the entire state for the first time, the website said.

“Boston University is proud of its stewardship of WRNI, and its investment to preserve National Public Radio in Rhode Island,” BU Executive Vice President Joseph Mercurio said in a press release.