According to former Colorado resident Roger Parmenter, a lot of things got him to Ames to start a community radio station. Horace Greeley. Grandchildren. Good omens. Among other things. This week, Parmenter, together with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames as sponsor, has applied for an FCC license for a community radio station for Ames and surrounding rural areas. "Horace Greeley said, 'Go west, young man, go west.' But people don't ever get to the second half of that, which is, 'Go east, old man, go east.' So that's what got me to Ames," Parmenter joked. Parmenter retired in 2001 from his job as a software engineer at Hewlett Packard in Ft. Collins, Colo. Earlier this year, he was driving through though the Arizona desert with his wife, Carolyn, and they were listening to a C-SPAN radio broadcast of a community radio conference in Nashville, Tenn. It was then that he first heard the FCC had announced an application window for noncommercial educational radio stations. Having been a ham radio operator in high school, Parmenter said the announcement immediately interested him, and he threw out the idea to Carolyn of starting a radio station, naming a couple smaller communities in Colorado as possible venues. Carolyn nixed both options. "So in about three microseconds we got that settled," he said. But with five grandchildren in Boone and as the "quintessential grandmother," it had been a goal of Carolyn's to move closer to them. For Roger, it was easy to combine her goals with his own, and he began pursuing his radio station dream at that time. The couple moved to Iowa in June, and then the good omen part, as Parmenter refers to it, began. His pursuit of information regarding community-based radio and the FCC application process led him to the Pacifica Foundation, a network of five community-based nonprofit radio stations that works to support and promote community-based radio nationwide by helping groups with the application process for new stations. His contact person at Pacifica's affiliate station in New York City was Ursula Ruedenberg, a former Ames resident. There have been a few twists and turns since. Parmenter started out with the intention to file the FCC application for the Boone area, with the Iowa Farmer's Union as his nonprofit sponsor. At about the same time, a separate group's plan to start a radio station in Ames fell through, and a Christian radio station in San Diego decided to seek FCC permission for a translator in Boone. Parmenter dropped the Boone station idea and pursued the one in Ames.

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is the primary non-profit underwriter and the applicant license holder with Iowa Farmer's Union serving as the secondary sponsor. A silent partner has provided $75,000 needed to prove the financial funding required by the FCC. The coverage area incorporates Ames and surrounding rural areas. The station will broadcast off a tower in Randall, and Parmenter is exploring ideas for studio locations. Once the application is accepted, a construction permit is granted, with a three-year time limit to build a transmitter, tower and studio. Parmenter hopes to hear from the FCC by spring of next year. Parmenter is enthusiastic about possible programming. He wants to integrate urban and rural issues on the air. He wants the station to appeal to "knowledge absorbers" with educational programming, issues awareness and "things that lift the spirit," like bluegrass and jazz music, and comedy. He is interested in children's programming and cooperation with Iowa State University Extension. He plans Internet streaming for a wider audience. Parmenter said he wants the station to reflect the community's people and spirit, and he is inviting the public to forums to gather more information and to give input to the project. "I don't want this to be 'Roger's Radio,'" he said. "Though I might have a blog called 'The Adventures of Radio Rog,' the programming is something the community will have to create."

Bringing more airwaves to Ames Bringing more airwaves to Ames Those interested in finding out more about community radio in Ames can attend the following public forums: * 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, Ames Public Library. * 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, Ericson Public Library, Boone. * 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, Nevada Public Library. * 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, Bertha Bartlett Public Library, Story City.