.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} The song was almost over when a phone call from KFMG radio General Manager Ron Sorenson alerted Kathryn Dickel that her microphone was still on and her conversation in the former paint closet on the 11th floor of the Hotel Fort Des Moines which the station calls home was being broadcast over the airwaves.

“I’m just glad I didn’t say anything too crazy,” she said, laughing. “You’d think after five weeks I’d know better.”

Just a minor glitch in the growing process of Des Moines’ newest radio station, 99.1 FM KFMG.

But the KFMG name is anything but new to Des Moines’ airwaves. Sorenson originally started the station in the early 1970s at the 94.9 frequency where KGGO now resides. The KFMG call sign was resurrected at 103.3 in the mid-’90s before the station was sold to Saga Communications Inc.

But this time, Sorenson assures, is different. “They would have to drag us out of here kicking and screaming,” he said.

At this stage in Des Moines’ development, Sorenson said, a station like KFMG is vitally important.

Three companies own 18 of the 25 radio stations in the Des Moines market: Saga, Clear Channel Communications Inc. and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. In a trend that has been played out in markets around the country, little room has been left on the airwaves for local, independent stations.

“Almost all the stations in this town are owned and operated by out-of-town companies,” said Mark Vos, KFMG station manager and program director. “We’re the antithesis of what’s happening in the radio industry right now.”

Despite the avalanche of new listening options, including iPods, satellite radio, digital HD radio, Internet streaming and even phones that double as music-listening devices, nearly all Americans still listen to standard AM/FM radio stations at some point during the course of a week.

According to the “Radio Today” annual report issued by radio ratings company Arbitron Inc., 93.7 percent of people age 12 years and older still listen to traditional radio each week. That represents a drop of 1.6 percentage points since 1998, a relatively small decline compared with those suffered by other media outlets facing expanded competition from new technology.

But with so few companies owning a huge majority of every market, Vos said, radio has lost its ties to the community.

“Local radio has been tossed into the trash,” he said. “These companies aren’t interested in being a part of the community.”

Long road to launch

It’s been nearly seven years since Sorenson first approached the Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation to see if it would be interested in applying for a license to operate a station on the frequency that KFMG now calls home.

“They determined, however, that running a radio station was not part of their mission,” Sorenson said. “So I approached (Employee & Family Resources) to see if they would be interested.”

Control of the frequency was transferred from the Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation to EFR, an independent human services organization, and a new station was born.

“This station serves multiple roles,” said Preston Daniels, diversity program director for EFR and a former Des Moines mayor who oversees the station. “First, it plays good music, and if you ask around, people believe our community is lacking a good station that plays a wide variety.

“Secondly, it will meet community needs, like reading public service announcements. Other stations do it, but they bury them in the middle of the night.”

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Daniels cites a recent trip to the station by a group of kids from Children and Families of Iowa as proof that KFMG serves a purpose.

“They were making a trip to Washington, D.C., and wanted to look professional,” he said. “So, we put out a request for anyone to help them purchase khaki pants. They got calls almost immediately from people willing to do it.”

Des Moines is going through a renaissance, Daniels said, with lots of new commercial and residential development downtown, an exploding art and music scene and huge growth in employment opportunities.

“But it needs an entity that can act as the nucleus of all that,” Daniels said. “Something that will promote, support and act as a catalyst. Something that adds that last ingredient.”

Vos, who has been in the radio industry for more than 35 years, calls KFMG “a bright yellow highlighter for what’s happening in Des Moines.”

Sorenson puts it another way.

“We want radio for people who aren’t afraid to think,” he said.

But there are other reasons the station is important, Dickel said. When she and her business partner, Heather Hansen, formed IowaTix.com, which does ticketing for small local venues such as Vaudeville Mews, House of Bricks and the Civic Music Association, they discovered that local audiences hadn’t heard of many of the bands they were selling tickets for, and that there were no radio outlets to promote them.

“Then people don’t show up to the shows, and bands stop coming to Des Moines,” Dickel said.

That’s why Dickel and Hansen helped start the new KFMG along with Daniels, Sorenson and Vos. Now Dickel hosts a show every Wednesday evening from 8 to 10 p.m., inviting guests into the studio to play their favorite tunes.

Charter members

Suzanne Van Englehoven says she stopped listening to the radio many years ago.

“I have satellite radio, an iPod, the Internet,” she said. “There just isn’t anything on the radio I’m interested in.”

So when she and her husband and business partner in the Flying Mango restaurant, Mike Wedeking, received an e-mail asking for people to become charter members of KFMG for $50, they were excited.

“We wanted to give a lot more,” Wedeking said. “I was a big fan of the original KFMG, and I don’t want to see this go away again.”

This type of support from local businesses is critical to KFMG’s success, Sorenson said.

“We’re a nonprofit, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to make any money,” he said. “We want to constantly improve our product, and support from listeners who want better radio in Des Moines is vital.”

Wedeking said he is installing an antenna on the roof of his restaurant to improve his reception of the station – which sends out a minuscule 100-watt signal.

Vos said he’s heard from many people in the community who are excited that KFMG is back on the airwaves.

“The last incarnation really established itself by grabbing ahold of the local music scene and making it its own,” he said. “We have a world-class music scene in Des Moines, and we will highlight it in our regular rotation, instead of burying it at midnight on the weekend.”

Sorenson, who has been involved in radio in Des Moines for more than 40 years, said there are many workdays that stretch late into the evening now that he’s working to get the station off the ground. But KFMG is something he’s passionate about, and any time it takes to make the station a success, he’ll happily give.

“This is my passion,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, but really, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”