Cedar Rapids / Iowa / United States
KCCK History and Recognition KCCK-FM is a membership-supported, full-time jazz station located on the campus of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We program over 100 hours of Jazz every week. You can also hear Blues, Worldbeat and Ambient music on weekends. KCCK-FM began as a project of an electronics class at Kirkwood Community College back in 1972. The Electronics Communication class was looking for a project in which to gain practical experience in the world of electronics. One idea was to construct a 10-watt FM radio station. A couple of students found an old FM transmitter that had been donated to the electronics program and discovered that it could be adapted to a 10-watt transmitter. The Kirkwood Board of Directors passed a resolution giving permission for the college to apply for an F.C.C. license. A construction permit was granted by the Federal Communications Commission and the class went to work on equipping the station. KCCK-FM went on the air as a 10-watt station in September 1972. From that point until July 1, 1975, KCCK had a sporadic -- if not exciting -- history as a 10-watt FM radio station. In 1974 it was decided that if KCCK was ever to be a viable radio station for the seven-county area served by Kirkwood, it needed to broadcast from a 400-foot tower with 10, 000 watts of power.
