City Grinnell, Iowa Frequency 88.5 MHz Format Variety | Slogan 88.5 the Robot First air date May 20, 1968 (as KDIC) ERP 130 watts | |
KDIC (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Located in Grinnell, Iowa, United States, the station is licensed to Grinnell College Trustees of Iowa. Live streaming is available through kdic.grinnell.edu and through the KDIC smartphone apps for iOS and Android.
Contents
Programming
KDIC has a one- to two-hour block format from 5PM-1AM every day. The DJs are mostly students as well as some members of the Grinnell community. A select number of shows are podcasted and available at kdic.grinnell.edu.
History
On December 6, 1948, KGRW began broadcasting as Grinnell College's first radio station. It broadcast popular and classical music, news, and interviews. Eventually that station was shut down.
KDIC went on the air on May 20, 1968 on 88.9 MHz using a 10-watt FM transmitter located on the second floor of Darby Gym. During the first year, eighty-five students provided enough staffing to allow for 121 hours a week of programming.
In 1971, after experiencing increasing interference on 88.9 MHz, the FCC approved the frequency change to 88.5 MHz where it continues to broadcast to this day. In 1984, transmitter power was increased to 130 watts.
The licensee failed to file for license renewal by October 1, 2004 and the station's license expired on February 1, 2005. The FCC approved a Special Temporary Authorization (STA) October 18, 2005 and the station resumed operation, ceasing again May 12, 2006 in anticipation of the end of the academic year. The FCC granted a second STA on September 22, 2006 and on January 31, 2007 approved the renewal of the KDIC license.
Railroad track antenna incident
There have been unconfirmed reports that any time between the 1950s and 1970s D.J.s at either KDIC or KGRW illegally connected the radio transmitter of the station to train tracks that go through the Grinnell College campus allowing for a transmission radius that was hundreds or possibly thousands of miles. There was a time when the station broadcast in an illegal manner outside its area and it lost its license.