06/18/2026
These billboards make me a little sad. A lot of people may have missed it, but Des Moines lost two great radio stations in the past year.
89.3 (KJMC-FM) was the city's lone black-owned radio station, and provided everything from DJs discussing community issues to music ranging from R&B/soul to jazz to gospel over the last few decades. Even towards the end when they had transitioned to mostly (all?) national programming, it was still worth a listen. I remember driving a Ryder truck full of records back to Des Moines late one Saturday night, and they played an hour straight of only Al Green songs, and it was amazing.
88.1 (KURE-FM) was owned by Des Moines Public Schools, and run out of Central Campus downtown. This station was also around for decades and provided local students a chance to try their hand at broadcasting before going off to college. All student-run stations can be unpredictable and unweildly at times, but that was also the fun of it. And when the students were gone for the weekend, they piped in Radio Disney for families with young kids.
Both stations have now been sold and taken over by conglomerates... which is probably not much of a surprise in these times. But the lesson here is make sure to support your local stations! Here in Des Moines, we still have KFMG, KUNI/Studio One from IPR, and KWDM providing some great music. Ames has KHOI and KURE, while Iowa City has KICI and KRUI. And there are plenty more independently-owned commercial stations still kicking around the state that can really surprise you (yes, we see you Denison, Decorah, and quite a few others!). A lot of these stations rely on donations, and they would love to see your support.
