[IRCA] KCJJ-1630 to become "99 Plus" on Fri. March 1st

[Rick Dau <drummer1965usa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Well, for 9 hours, anyway... 
 
At 3:00 p.m. Central Time on March 1st, KCJJ will cease normal programming and will be taken over by "99 Plus".  From 1973 until it signed off at 3:00 p.m. on March 1st, 1994, 99 Plus, under the call letters of KFMH, was an underground rock station based out of Muscatine, Iowa and served a large area of eastern Iowa and western Illinois.  It was a station that didn't conform to the rules....they played anything and everything, and the most unique part about it is that it was ALL-request, 24/7.  As a result, the station built up a fiercely devoted following, and when it signed off for the final time, over 500 people showed up at their studios to protest (to give you some idea of how much it is still missed, the recently-constructed Facebook page dedicated to 99 Plus has over 1100 likes....not bad for a station that's been silent for 19 years!).
 
In recent months, KFMH's former general manager, "Captain" Steve Bridges (the current GM and morning show co-host of KCJJ), who said for years that he would never bring the format of the Plus back again to any station, has warmed to the idea of resurrecting the Plus as an internet-only station.  To operate it, however, he has stressed that it will take $20,000 for 1 year's worth of programming, and that the money would have to come from public contributions.  Since Bridges made the announcement in January, he has raised over half of the total required.  Friday's temporary switchover will essentially serve as a fund-raiser to try to rake in the rest, and will feature many of the same DJs that were an important part of 99 Plus back in the day.  At Midnight local time, the carriage will turn back into a pumpkin (IMHO) , but it's hoped that the interest generated by this will help to bring back 99 Plus on a permanent basis online.  The audio from these
 9 hours will not only be broadcast on 1630 AM, but will also be streamed on KCJJ's website: 
 
    http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kcjj-raw  
 
And you can find out more about 99 Plus here: 
 
    https://www.facebook.com/ThePlusPirateRadio ;
 
I hope you'll be able to check out KCJJ's webstream at some point during these 9 hours and get a taste of what I so enjoyed listening to during my years in eastern Iowa in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  :) 
 
73,
Rick Dau (a proponent of free-form radio)
South Omaha, Nebraska
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