SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) – Western Iowa Tech Community College’s (WITCC) mass communication department is expanding its curriculum with a student-led low power FM radio station.
The department has been granted a low power FM construction permit by the FCC, an honor that’s granted every 10 years.
“This is something that I’ve wanted to do for about the last 10 years,” program coordinator Chris Mansfield said. “We were thrilled that we got the notification that we were selected to get the construction permit.”
The station will be called KWSR and will be an expansion to their currently streamed program, Comet Radio.
“Being able to do a streaming station and have all that working is tremendous, and the students have learned a ton,” Mansfield said. “But it adds a little bit more legitimacy to be able to broadcast that out so people can listen to it in their homes and their car radio.”
With the expansion, the students will learn more than how to produce a successful show.
“It teaches things like time management. It teaches them how to set up and communicate with folks. It gives them an opportunity to share music that they find that’s important to them,” Mansfield said. “As far as the technical side of things, if they know how it works, they’re better at making it work.”
But the students aren’t the only ones who will be able to enjoy the art of radio broadcast.
“The door is open, and if somebody comes in and they would like to host a show, or they would like to have one of the students come in and share their air time, we’re all for that,” Mansfield said. “It’s a resource for the college and the community. It allows us to really step out there and invite others in the community to come in and share their stories.”
WITCC plans to have KWSR fully operational by the end of 2025. Listeners will be able to tune in at 94.3 FM.