LOUD AND CLEAR: KRCU BOOSTS POWER

It's loud and clear. KRCU -- Southeast Missouri State University's National Public Radio affiliate -- is boosting its power.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 22, marking the start of construction of new transmission facilities for KRCU. The ceremony will be held outside the station at 338 N. Henderson. A reception will follow at the station.

The Board of Regents in March approved a contract with Central Tower Inc. of Newburgh, Ind., to build a 230-foot radio transmission tower adjacent to the KRCU building.

The new tower will replace the transmitter tower on the roof of Academic Hall, expand the station's broadcasting service radius from its current five miles to 25 miles, and enhance the station's ability to obtain future operational grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In addition, the tower will allow the station - with the aid of a National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant to increase its broadcasting power from 100 to 6,000 watts.

Southwestern Bell will also benefit, as it will use the tower to facilitate its cellular telephone transmissions. The telephone company will pay the university about $167,000 over 20 years for use of the tower, Southeast officials said.

Ferrell Ervin, acting general manager of KRCU and chairman of the mass communications department at Southeast, said the project will allow the university to provide public radio service to some 72,000 individuals in Southeast Missouri and will provide the stepping stone necessary to expand public radio programming further into the Bootheel.

Estimated cost of the project is $236,327, which includes the tower, an antenna, construction of a new transmitter building, new broadcast transmission equipment and installation of the equipment.

Construction is expected to be completed by late November or early December, said Greg Petrowich, KRCU operations director.

The project is being funded by a $46,396 grant and KRCU revenue over the next three years.

Fund-raising efforts are continuing with KRCU's "Build the Tower" campaign. To date, the station has raised nearly $40,000 toward the cost of the project, university officials said.