The first student-run radio station at Iowa State University was KMRA, which began broadcasting out of a dorm room in Friley Hall in 1949. KMRA was founded by Cedric Currin, Chuck Hawley, and Maurice Voland and operated out of Currin’s room, 5526 Friley Hall, Niles House. The original equipment was two turntables, a small transmitter, and a public address system. The men worked with the residence hall directors and WOI radio to make their dream a possibility by starting broadcast at 5pm, after WOI went off the air, and used a thermo-stabilized crystal to broadcast at a frequency of 640. Originally, sound was transmitted through Friley Hall’s water pipes.



KMRA later moved to a broom closet in Bennett House, but was only there for a short while because of the inadequate space and the constant ringing of the hall telephone that was located near the closet. From there, KMRA moved to a basement room in Stange House, then to the kitchenette across from the Main Lounge in North Friley. In 1950, KMRA became KMRI. The KMRI staff worked to improve their programming and equipment, with the result that their signal became stronger: so strong, in fact, that people several miles from Friley tuned in and heard a basketball game, prompting the FCC to shut KMRI down until KMRI’s equipment was able to contain their broadcasts. This shut-down was short, as KMRI was becoming more and more popular and plans were made to include a KMRI annex in the plans of the 1951 Friley Hall addition.



In 1961, KMRI became KISU. At the time, the station had 35 DJs and 15 newscasters. KISU was warned in 1962 that they were broadcasting above legal level, just one of many times the FCC would warn Iowa State’s student run radio station. In 1969, KISU submitted an application to the FCC for an FM construction permit; it was denied due to the fact it was not an identifiable non-profit organization. KISU took steps to remedy the problem, and in fall of 1969, KISU received its 10-watt FCC transmitter. Soon after, renovation was begun that included a newsroom, broadcasting studio, production studio, and general reception room. These facilities are the still in use.



Around this time, several Iowa State administrators voiced their opinion that KISU would be mistaken for the university’s official press agency and that would confuse the public. KISU applied for new call letters and in 1970 was given them: KPGY.



KPGY ran both FM and AM radio broadcasts throughout the week. The AM station was kept so that KPGY could run commercial announcements that the FM station could not. KPGY quickly grew and became a leading campus news source. It was during this time that KPGY had its first female co-manager. During this time, KPGY moved its transmitter and antenna to the top of Physics extension, in an effort to reach a broader audience.



By 1982, dorm radio was becoming obsolete and KPGY changed its name to KUSR and operated only on an FM frequency of 91.5 megahertz. As time went on, tapes and CDs came to exist side by side with turntables as new music technology developed.

In 1995, however, the FCC came back to haunt KUSR. Another station in the vicinity had applied for a permit to broadcast at a frequency of 91.5 FM. At the same time, KUSR’s General Manager contacted the FCC with a question about license renewal. The FCC discovered at this time that KUSR’s license had, in fact, not been renewed several years earlier and gave the permit to the other station. KUSR was forced to shut down for a semester, while a group of students scrambled to get the station back on the air.



KUSR returned as KURE in 1996, broadcasting at a frequency of 88.5 MHz. It began employing 250 watts of effective radiated power soon after. KURE is still in operation, with its license renewed in January 2005. KURE has plans to drop its frequency to 88.3 FM in order to reach a broader listening area. In addition, KURE broadcasts on the Internet at www.kure885.org.



Over the past years, KURE has been returning to its roots by re-establishing a news department and having many events that bring it closer to the Ames and Iowa State communities, such as KUREfest, Battle of the Bands, and Live at KURE. KURE also sponsors Kaleidoquiz, an Iowa State tradition for well over forty years. Kaleidoquiz is a twenty-six hour trivia challenge with music montages, traveling questions, and scavenger hunts.