IOWA CITY — The request of WOI-FM, Iowa State’s public radio station, to bid on a bankrupt Osceola station was unanimously approved by the Board of Regents Wednesday.

The purchase of KIIC-FM, formerly a solid-gold country station, would bring public radio access to residents of southeast and south-central Iowa. According to regent documents, the expansion would provide public radio to 44,000 new listeners.

Although WOI-FM faced a $239,000 budget cut last fall, representatives from the three regent university’s public radio stations stressed the limited availability of frequencies for purchase as they stressed the goal of providing public radio to Iowa residents.

“It really is another effort that extends what Iowa State already does with Extension bringing another form of education,” said Regent Mary Ellen Becker of Oskaloosa.

Costs of operating the new station would be minimal for WOI because WOI’s existing programming would be used, and Graceland University has expressed interest in helping set up a physical studio in the area, said Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance.

Madden said Iowa State hopes to come to a financial agreement with the bank KIIC is in debt within a few weeks. However, the purchase process could take months.

“It’s a long and difficult process; having regent support and pretty strong regent support is a good start,” said Bill McGinley, WOI general manager. “We’re obviously not done; we still have to navigate the deal.”

The three university stations also gave a presentation on their collaborative efforts and outlined some concerns, including the cost of equipment updates and of building and operating new stations.

Regent John Forsyth of Des Moines applauded WOI for not operating on money from Iowa State’s general fund and encouraged the other schools to work toward the same goal.