Grinnell College Gets FM License Back, With FCC Admonishment

The FCC has restored the license of Grinnell College’s radio station three months after it was deleted.

KDIC/88.5 (Grinnell, IA) notified the FCC that it went off the air in August 2020 due to storm damage caused by the Iowa Derecho. Adding to the station’s challenges, the campus was closed through August 2021 to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the station did not submit any further filings after its initial request for special temporary authority to remain silent, the FCC sent a letter in April 2022 letter inquiring about the station’s status, which elicited no response. The FCC then deleted KDIC’s license on July 15.

The college filed a petition for reconsideration in August, stating that the lack of response was an oversight was due to a college administrator’s medical leave.

An Oct. 27 letter indicates the FCC did not agree with all of the college’s arguments about whether it was required to transmit when the campus was closed, but approved the petition for reconsideration. It reinstated KDIC’s license and the application for license renewal.

Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner admonished the college in letter, writing, “As we have said in the past, it is axiomatic that a licensee is directly responsible for compliance with the rules and cannot evade responsibility by attributing the misconduct to a Station agent or employee.”

The college does not dispute that the station has been off the air for more than a year. Though federal law stipulates that a station’s license expires automatically if it is off the air for a year, the FCC is allowed to reinstate licenses when the action promotes “equity and fairness.”

The college’s petition stated it expects the process of installing a new tower and equipment to take about five months.