Events - Event View

The future of KCIW, Curry Coast Community Radio will be on the September 23rd City Council Agenda. The station has been operating under a three year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Brookings regarding space for our antenna on the City’s tower. The MOU has expired, and the last several months have been spent working on a new agreement.

KCIW is a non-profit, community radio station, serving the citizens of Brookings and surrounding areas, solely dependent on volunteers and donations, and whatever grants we can obtain. Our average working budget is about $10,000 per year, and we fundraise all year to be able to meet those expenses. KCIW is non-partisan, welcomes diverse points of view, both in our programming and in our volunteer base, and is committed to ensuring that all segments of our population have a voice.

The City and KCIW have enjoyed a mutually beneficial and satisfying relationship for several years. The former City Manager, Gary Milliman, was a frequent guest on several shows, discussing issues like the 4 cent gas tax, that were coming in front of the Council or to the voters. Operations Manager Tony Barron has also been a guest several times to discuss in detail the idea of a rec center in Brookings. Mayor Pieper was recently a guest on Misty Young’s show Ocean Mist Power Hour. KCIW has aired countless public service announcements over the past 2 years for events happening in the City.

The truly priceless part of this relationship for the citizens of Brookings is, however, the fact that in an emergency or significant natural disaster, KCIW agreed to make our airwaves directly accessible to emergency personnel in the Emergency Operations Center. In return, the City agreed to forgo their share of a monthly rental fee for our antenna position on the City tower. We all know that it’s not a question of “if”, but “when”, and when that disaster strikes, the likelihood is that all cell towers, landline phones, commercial radio statio