What happened to 106.3 The Beat? Why did Clear Channel decide Des Moines needed yet another variety music station?

I remember when the Daily did an article last year about The Beat and how exciting it was to have an all-hip-hop and R&B station. I also read in The Des Moines Register last year that the Beat had risen to one of the top three radio stations in he Des Moines area.

I know that at Iowa State, The Beat was incredibly popular across a wide cross-section of students from different backgrounds. Hip-hop music is one of the most popular forms of music in America. It not only unites different multicultural groups, it also influences our fashion and portrays young American culture as an important form of expression.

The majority of the videos and songs in the top 10 for both MTV’s TRL and Billboard are hip hop and R&B. I’m sorry, but I don’t like having to listen to Ciara, Lil Jon and T.I. and have it mixed with Gavin DeGraw or Hilary Duff — that is what KISS is for.

The Beat brought music to Iowa that you could previously have only listened to in Chicago or even Omaha! I know there are a lot of students out there who love the Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait [Whisper in Your Ear],” or Brooke Valentine’s “Girlfight” or Fantasia Barrino’s “Baby Mama.” Without The Beat, many ISU students would not have been able to listen to these songs for a terribly long time.

I guess I am upset because the introduction of 106.3 The Beat on Oct. 1, 2003 was a step forward in the world of music and also for Des Moines, a city which is overshadowed by Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and St. Louis. The Beat was something that made Des Moines more than just a sleepy Midwestern community that the rest of the country forgets about. The loss of The Beat on April 1 was a step in the wrong direction.

Peter A. Cline

President

ISU Hip Hop Dance Club