Student-Run Radio Station in Iowa Preps for Big FM Signal Debut

The media industry is always evolving. Some changes can be for the better, and others can be seen as a disservice to a community. But students at a local Iowa community college are working hard to make sure the future of radio is strong.

Western Iowa Tech Community College has a student-run radio station that gives students real on-air experiences. The radio station broadcasts around campus and online. But soon, this station will make its major FM signal debut.

Get our free mobile app

READ MORE: The Biggest Tree in Iowa is Just 7 Miles From the MN Border

For the first time ever, the local college radio station and students at Western Iowa Tech Community College will be heard on the FM airwaves. Located in Sioux City, this goal has been a long time coming for students and faculty at Western Iowa Tech Community College. Our news partners at Dakota News Now explain that everyone is excited for the opportunity. Especially the college's Program Coordinator, Chris Mansfield

"Well, this is the first time since the mid-70s that a new College Station has gone on the air in Sioux City...It is a tremendous benefit to this program. It’s very exciting. It’s going to give our students an opportunity that some of them didn’t have entirely before.”

The college received a construction permit from the FCC for a low-power FM station just last year. Chris Mansfield tells Dakota News Now that this opportunity from the FCC only happens every ten years.

“The FCC only opens the window once every decade, and we learned that they were going to do this in the fall of ’23. And so we kind of got our ducks in a row and when they opened up the website to the application, we sat down and did our best to give them the information they were looking for.”

The Communications Department at Western Iowa Tech Community College was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Gilchrist Foundation to help make this dream a reality for its students.

The station is 94.3 FM KWSR plans to flip the switch in the coming weeks. Get more details on this new local student-run radio station here.

I started in radio at my university, and that really shaped my passion for the industry. I wouldn't be here today without my college radio stations and guidance from my professors. Break a leg, Comets!