Iowa college decides to keep its public radio station

Originally published in Current, Jan. 15, 2001

As expected, Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) has decided not to sell its public radio station. The college's board made its decision Dec. 18, [2000,] after a bidding process drew a surprisingly weak response.

An undisclosed party had expressed interested in buying KIWR, a triple-A format station that calls itself "The River." The college in Council Bluffs, across the Missouri from Omaha, responded by taking bids for the station. At least six parties had expressed interest, but only Calvary Salvation Network, a California-based religious broadcaster, bid on KIWR.

Iowa Western's president, Dan Kinney, called the $352,000 bid "ridiculously low," and told the board to reject the offer. The station, which serves the Omaha metro area, had been appraised at $4.5 million.

The college has no plans to extend its efforts to sell KIWR, according to board Vice President Randy Pash. "This whole process was really in response to someone making overtures to the board," he said. "We felt that it was our responsibility to the stakeholders of the college to at least follow through and see what their valid bid was."

	.	To Current's home page
	.	Earlier news: The college, burdened with debt, had hoped to bring in millions from sale of the station.
	.	Outside link: The station's site.

Web page posted Jan. 18, 2001
Current
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