Dodge City, KS — KVPC
Radio — the “Voice of the Presbyterian Church”
— began test broadcasting on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25. The
station will broadcast at 100.5 FM for 24 hours a day, seven days
a week in Dodge City.
The new station, only the second to be sponsored by a denomination
in Dodge City, will operate out of First Presbyterian Church,
whose pastor promises the station “will provide a wide variety
of religious music from contemporary to classical.”
“Our primary motivation for starting the station is to
be able to broadcast our Sunday services to members who are homebound
and unable to attend church,” explained the Rev. David Clipson,
pastor of First Presbyterian Church.
“But one of the other things the station will provide
is a way to reach the community and to tell about programs at
the church such as Friendship Feast (a Monday through Friday hot
lunch served to all who are hungry).”
The local Presbyterian Church applied to the Federal Communication
Commission three years ago for a radio construction permit, and
staff members were surprised when they were notified recently
that a license finally had been granted.
“The FCC gave non profits a one month window three years
ago to apply for an LP, low powered, FM license, but we went three
years and had not heard from them,” Clipson explained. "The
Catholic diocese went on the air eight months ago.”
KODC (Catholics of Dodge City), which was started by Father
Ted Skalsky, is broadcast at 102.1 FM from Sacred Heart Cathedral
on Central Avenue across the street from the diocesan chancery.
The Catholic station utilizes a satellite feed from EWTN Radio.
The weekday schedule includes a daily Mass, recitation of the
Rosary and various religious programs.
“When the FCC offered the window of opportunity to non
profits, there was a lot of controversy about new stations cluttering
the airways and taking away audiences from other stations,”
Clipson said.
“But we aren’t going to be in competition with other
Christian stations that broadcast in western Kansas. We have no
interest in competing with commercial stations.
“We will offer a different format,” he added. “Other
stations have 100,000 watts, covering several states, while we
have 35 watts. Our audience will be limited to the Dodge City
listening area.”
The new station will use the Tune Tracker automated radio broadcasting
system and will offer the Sunday worship services and recorded
music 24 hours per day for the first two months of operation.
“I can run the system from my home or from here in my
office,” explained Clipson, past president of the Dodge
City Ministerial Alliance. “The way the system is set up,
it can go for years, interrupting only for the emergency system.
“We have several DJs in the congregation and a leadership
team of eight people who will determine our policies and help
with the programming. We are studying and exploring the possibilities
of how the station can be utilized.”
The radio station’s listening area may extend a few miles
beyond the Dodge City confines, but Clipson isn’t sure of
that.
“People may be able to pick it up eight to 10 miles from
Dodge -- maybe in Wright,” he speculated. “We won't
know how far we can reach until we start transmitting.
“We will have pre recorded human voices, and someday maybe
a live call in show for music,” Clipson said. “Eventually
we also may get a news feed and talk shows, and be able to make
available Bible studies, but it will take time to develop these
things.”
The new radio station’s antenna will be located atop the
church’s bell tower, which seems fitting. The bell was given
to First Presbyterian in 1880 by the New York home church of First
Presbyterian’s first pastor, Rev. Ormond Wright, the young
missionary who spearheaded the erection of Dodge City’s
first church in 1878.
“We are excited about our new station,” Clipson
said. “We are just babies now, so we’ll have to wait
and see how things progress in the future." |
