KMSC 92.9 FM is a

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station broadcasting an

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

format at

Morningside University Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, United States. Students are able to participate regardless of their field of study, with some classes requiring participation in KMSC's on-air presence. Students host their own shows ranging from shows about wrestling to political talk shows.

History

Broadcast radio at Morningside College first started with a " Marconi station" built in the 1910s by some physics students and only capable of sending

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...

signals. Voice broadcasting was inaugurated with radio station KFMR 1150 AM, which operated between 1923 and 1928 at a power of 100 watts. KFMR was among the earliest educational stations in the country (the very first educational stations at the Universities of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

went on the air in 1922). However, it was not until April 1978 that college radio returned to Morningside with the start of KMSC, thanks in part to the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

's adoption of new (at the time) non-commercial/educational FM regulations.

Awards

In 2006, the station received the

Eric Sevareid Arnold Eric Sevareid (November 26, 1912 – July 9, 1992) was an American author and CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed " Murrow's&n ...

Award for first place in the category of student radio play-by-play by the Northwest Broadcast News Association (NBNA). KMSC received the award for its football broadcast of Morningside's 35–13 victory against

Hastings College Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska. History The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. Ha ...

on October 29, 2005. Casey Gibbs, a senior from

Garnavillo, Iowa Garnavillo is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 763 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 754 in 2000. History Garnavillo once served as county seat of Clayton County. Geography Garnavillo is located at (42.86 ...

, and Josh Creekmore, a former student from

Hartington, Nebraska Hartington is a city in Cedar County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,514 at the 2020 census. History Hartington was platted in 1883, as a water stop on the railroad. It was named for Lord Hartington, who had then recently paid a ...

, were the student broadcasters. In 2004 and 2006, KMSC was voted a "

Siouxland Siouxland is a vernacular region that encompasses the entire Big Sioux River drainage basin in the U.S. states of South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. cheetz, George H."Whence Siouxland?" ''Book Remarks'' ioux City Public Library May 19 ...

Choice" radio station by readers of ''The Weekender'' newspaper.

Political Programming

The station broadcasts some local appearances by presidential candidates. Recent political broadcasts have featured

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, and

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

. On election night, KMSC marshals some 60

mass communications Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and other students for a marathon "count the vote" broadcast.

Movement from 88.3 FM to 92.9 FM

KMSC moved to a new frequency due to interference with newly licensed

KFHC KFHC (88.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Religious music format. Licensed to Ponca, Nebraska Ponca is a city and county seat of Dixon County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 961 at the 2010 census. History Ponca was esta ...

, broadcasting on adjacent channel 88.1 FM and operated by St. Gabriel Communications, Lt

. KFHC's license to broadcast was granted on March 14, 2008. Due to the limitations inherent with operating as a Low-power broadcasting, low-power " Class D" station, KMSC was forced to give deference to KFHC's signal and discontinue broadcasting. The station filed an application with the FCC to resume broadcasting on 92.9 FM, with the application being granted on June 27, 2008. The station can also be heard via the

streaming audio Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

link on its websit

References

External links

* {{Sioux City Radio College radio stations in Iowa, MSC MSC Morningside University Radio stations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Iowa