IOWA CITY — Iowa Public Radio will cut nine positions this year in an effort to save money as part of a reorganization.

Four of the nine positions are already vacant and will remain unfilled. Of the remaining five, two people qualify for early retirement and one employee will be shifted to a different position. The other two will be laid off.

The reduction of nine jobs is 14 percent of the work force, and will drop Iowa Public Radio’s statewide staff to 55 part- and full-time employees. The Fiscal 2010 operating budget is $6.1 million, a reduction of 10 percent from Fiscal 2009.

Iowa Public Radio this year saw a reduction in funding of 6 percent from the state and 17 percent from the three regent universities. Those entities provide about one-third of the budget, Chief Executive Officer Mary Grace Herrington said.

““No programming changes will result from this realignment,” Herrington said. “We remain a philanthropic organization that delivers what we believe is a fabulous public service in public media.”

The three separate radio groups at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa were merged into Iowa Public Radio in 2005.

As part of that merger, one goal is to make Iowa Public Radio self-sustaining and reduce financial contributions from the three universities.

Member donor count is up 7 percent and membership revenue is up 6 percent over last year. Station ratings show the number listeners has increased 22 percent since the merger.

Iowa Public Radio was established by the state Board of Regents to operate KSUI-FM and WSUI-AM at the UI, WOI-AM and FM at ISU and KUNI-FM and KHKE-FM at UNI.