Hello indeed to a new year and a new era at KSTM. Things have been rough and tumble over the past few years with the station but there is now finally light at the end of the tunnel.
For those who don't know the story let's flashback to late 2010/early 2011. KSTM at that time was very much in flux. With no true leadership or management, there was nothing to really right the ship and keep it from sinking. KSTM was very much in danger of becoming extinct. However in early 2011 a new faculty adviser was appointed to take charge of KSTM in Steven Chappell. Also a new station manger was set in place being Jesse Stewart and a staff was put under him. For the first time in a long time KSTM had structure.
However things looked bleak again in before the spring 2011 semester ended as the news broke that Simpson College would be tearing down the Brenton Student Center and building the Kent Campus Center. This move displaced many items including KSTM. After months and months of meetings, discussions, engineering visits, paperwork, and more; KSTM was finally given a new home in a closet at the back of a classroom in McNeill Hall. It took until late 2011 for the studio to be built but once it was, KSTM was back on the air and better than before.
This move to McNeill Hall was believed to be a semi-permanent move, at least for a few years, due to the pain of moving and constructing a new radio studio. So KSTM operated on as normal through the latter part of 2011 and into 2012. It was during the middle part of 2012 that this plan would change once again.
For starters Steven Chappell was removed from his role as faculty advisor/general manager of KSTM due to budget problems at the college. To replace him, the head of the Communications Department at Simpson, Dr. Brian Steffen would step in to take charge of all student media. The second major change, largely thanks to Steffen, was that KSTM along with the rest of student media would move to the Gaumer Center effective in January 2013. This move would create an all new, professional radio studio for KSTM that is updated to today's standards.
It is out of all this turmoil, and through the dedication of a select few hardworking individuals, that Simpson College and the city of Indianola now has a radio station that it can be proud of. With the right facility and the tools to do what other stations do, the future has never been brighter for KSTM. We are extremely pleased to be nearing the time to flip the switch on a new year and new age for KSTM. (If only you all knew what else is coming in this new age of KSTM......SPOILER ALERT- there's more big news coming soon!)
So grab your radios and enjoy some great music and content that you can't really get anywhere else. We are your source for all things Simpson College, Indianola, and Warren County. We are your home for college variety. We ARE 88.9 The Storm!
-Jesse Stewart (Station Manager)
