FAIRFIELD — Grassroots radio will
officially hit the Fairfield airwaves at noon on Saturday when the crew
of KRUU-FM flips the switch, turning on a new era of community
togetherness, creativity and programming.
This new radio station, located at 100.1 on
the dial, will be 100 percent volunteer driven, airing only
locally-produced community programming that will include talk shows,
news, around-the-town events and music.
“One of the reasons why we want to do this
is because most of the media we see or listen to these days is created
somewhere else,” said Roland Wells.
Wells, one of the organizing forces behind KRUU, said the community response to this initiative “has been incredible.
“When listening to this station, everyone
will know it is their station, their programming by their neighbors,
family and friends,” he said.
This project has been a long time coming
for Wells who successfully applied for a license to broadcast in 2001.
The previous year, the Federal Communications Commission created a
non-commercial license they call “low-power FM” to allow smaller
communities a chance to get on the air.
They then opened up one-week windows of
opportunity around the country for communities to apply for a spot on
the dial. Roland said the FCC has very strict rules around the actual
physical distance of call letters from other larger commercial entities.
“If you were in New York City trying to
apply for a low-power frequency, there would have been no space
available. Because we are here in rural Iowa, there is a lot of
dead-air space so there was that frequency available,” he said.
Roland said approximately 130 people have
volunteered their time in one way or another from erecting the 60-foot
tower, helping to construct the consoles, soundproofing as well as
creating programming.
“This 100-watt station will give our
community a chance to access airwaves in a way that doesn’t compete
with commercial radio,” he said.
The building is located at 405 N. Second
St., in a building that used to be home to the Beat Box. As the debut
hour approaches, more volunteers are showing up with tools and various
levels of radio expertise.
“I am really excited about the fleet of
people coming to the table and I am especially impressed with the way
Roland has been able to organize this group. It has been very
impressive,” said Programming Committee Member James Moore.
With an open-door policy to all, Moore said he is particularly excited about the young people getting involved.
“We need their creative energy and ideas
and with around-the-clock programming, from pillar to post, we need
their help,” Moore said.
“Neither Jimmy or I have done radio before
in terms of production, so we didn’t know what to expect in terms of
community support and enthusiasm,” said Wells.
