Iowa Public Radio will move its broadcast operations to downtown Ames in the next few years, ending more than a century of radio history on the Iowa State University campus.
IPR Executive Director Myrna Johnson said the organization has secured space at 415 Main St., home to 1430 KASI, a place she said is well-suited for the network’s technical needs. The organization will make the move official by June 2028.
“The space we are moving into was designed for radio, so it is a perfect new location for our master control and studios,” Johnson said. “Over the next few months, we will begin renovating the space and planning the move.”
More than 100 years of public radio at Iowa State University
IPR has been based on the ISU campus for more than 100 years. Broadcasting began in 1911, when physics professor “Dad” Hoffman built a transmission line from the campus water tower to Engineering Hall to establish a wireless telegraph station.
The station that would become WOI Radio began in 1914 under the call letters 9YI and was sending and receiving weather reports by Morse code. The first sound broadcast, an hour of concert music, aired in 1921.
IPR’s move follows Iowa State’s decision to relocate the Department of Public Safety to the Communications Building, where IPR currently operates. The university notified IPR in fall 2024 and later extended the station’s lease through June 30, 2028, to allow additional time to transition.
A century of broadcasting history in Ames
Iowa State and the University of Iowa received their broadcasting licenses in 1922, placing them among the first 100 radio licenses issued in the United States. WOI’s early programming included market news, football games and coverage of campus activities. By the 1930s and 1940s, the station had expanded to reflect the full range of the university’s work.
IPR was created in 2004 by the Iowa Board of Regents to consolidate the radio operations at Iowa’s three public universities. It became an independent, community-based network in 2022.
Today, IPR broadcasts on 27 signals that reach all 99 counties and serves more than 205,000 listeners with news, classical music and alternative music.
Johnson said IPR remains committed to Ames as it prepares to leave campus, noting the organization had been “actively planning for a move of our master control to a new location in the Ames area.”
The move downtown will place IPR within the Ames business district, a “vibrant” area that Johnson said the organization is looking forward to joining as it prepares for the next chapter.
Ames Tribune reporter Celia Brocker contributed to this article.
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rfaaborg@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa Public Radio leaving Iowa State’s campus for Main Street in Ames
Reporting by Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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