KDPS radio is a 5,200 watt station licensed by the FCC to the Des Moines Public Schools, with evening and weekend programming provided by Grand View radio students. The station reaches a 20-radius around Des Moines, including Polk County and portions of Dallas, Story, Warren and Jasper counties.
Edge 88 is non-commercial evening and weekend programming on KDPS, 88.1 FM. The station is owned and operated by the Des Moines Public Schools, which programs the weekday daytime hours and Friday nights. Grand View leases evening time on the station to provide our student DJ's with experience in the radio business. The goal of the station is educational – we are not trying to compete with the area commercial stations, but instead are allowing our announcers to learn the business by working for the first time in front of a real audience.
Grand View students operate most of the evening Edge 88 programming during the school year, with live DJs from September to April and automated pop/rock music during the summer. Central Campus high school students air programming during the weekday daytime hours from late August to early June. Kids Radio Mania (for ages 2 to 14) runs on Saturdays and Sundays every weekend of the year, and also airs on school holidays and during the daytime on weekdays during the summer.
Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to midnight, Edge 88 programs alternative rock music. DJ's typically work one two-hour shift a week, sometimes working alone but often working in teams of two. The target listening audience is teens and young adults. On Sunday nights during the school years there is a variety of material, including oldies and sports talk. Kids Radio Mania runs from 5 a .m. Saturday to 6 p.m. on Sunday, and 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. on holidays and summer weekdays.
According to the Arbitron ratings (purchased by Grand View through the Radio Research Consortium), KDPS has a cumulative audience of around 12,000 listeners a week. Peak listening times are most weeknights, all day Friday, Saturday late morning ("Crazy Dave Kids Show") and kids radio on late afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays.
What makes Edge 88 unique is that the station actually has live DJ's sitting in the studio, ready to take your alternative rock request. Most commercial radio stations today "voice track" their DJ's by recording their voices ahead of time, or if there is a live DJ in the studio most stations do not actually play your request (even if the station tells you to call in requests!). So Grand View radio offers a request line: 263-2985. Call after 6 p.m., Sunday through Thursday from September to April.
Grand View radio also wants to keep you informed. Just click on our Edge Links section to get news, weather, sports and music news from other Web sites. The Weather Channel magnet at the bottom of the screen on our links section allows you to type in a zip code and get current conditions and weather forecast.