Iowa Central Community College is home to the only student-staffed, student-managed community college radio station in the state.
That's a distinction in itself, but it's not the reason Adam Bradley packed up and drove from his home in Boise, Idaho to enroll in the Associate of Science Degree Broadcasting program at Iowa Central.
``I had looked at colleges online and had received information in the mail from a ton of them,'' Bradley said. But it wasn't until he had already signed up for classes at Central Nebraska Community College, that he made a last minute visit to Iowa Central. Three weeks later he was a student in Fort Dodge.
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Adam Bradley hits the airwaves on Iowa Central's radio station.
Meeting the people and touring the campus facilities of KICB (88.1 on the FM dial) had made Bradley, 30, change his mind. ``I had already worked in radio in Boise, Albuquerque, N.M., and Kansas City, but I did not have the two-year degree and that is what I was looking for,'' he said.
Bradley has worked his way to the top of the broadcasting program at Iowa Central. He is general manager and music director for the college station which operates a lot like a professional setting to prepare its students for the real world. The station itself, 240 watts of power and fully licensed, has been on the air since 1971. Format changes come with the turnover in students but KICB mostly combines music, talk and some sports.
Not surprisingly music is the format of choice in the minds of college students when it comes to the purpose of radio, but Bradley, as an older, non-traditional student, has injected a more varied pace to the programming schedule. His own show can be heard from 3-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Beyond his plans to receive his A.S. Degree in May and be married in July, Bradley isn't sure where his next destination in radio will be. ``I haven't entirely decided. I may go back to school for a B.A. in business to combine with broadcasting. I enjoy both the promotional end of it and the being on the air. I've done some sports too,'' he said.
Like many in traditional media fields, Bradley wonders what the future will bring. ``Radio has faced its challenges in recent years, but it will always be around. It's still the most immediate way to get information to people.''