For curious radio listeners looking for something new in their musical diets, a venture to 88.5 on your FM dial can offer a vast selection of delectable songs.

And for curious concertgoers looking to hear something new, look no further than the KURE radio benefit show which will highlight some of the very best indie and local artists including Shiloh Church, Blitzhosen and the Selby Tigers.

“This is only our second spring show,” KURE general manager Shar Macatangay says. “We had a ton of bands at last year’s spring show and a lot of people came out. We also had a show in the Terrace Room last fall that had a pretty good turnout.”

Next weekend’s show will be the third show hosted by KURE and although the show’s main purpose is to raise funds for the station, it will also serve to raise awareness about the station, increase listenership and recruit new DJs, as KURE will lose many of its volunteers after this semester.

“We are always taking applications for DJs because we could always use the help,” Macatangay says. “So if people want to get involved with station and have a solid music background, they can fill out an application for the fall.”

With more than half of the KURE board of directors either graduating or moving on, spots have opened up at the station for new sports, public relations and music directors.

However, Macatangay says that even though the station will have almost an entirely new board of directors, listeners probably won’t notice much of a change in the format. Although she does say that every semester the station “tries to change things up a little bit.”

According to Macatangay some of the station’s goals for the fall include a possible contest for re-doing the KURE logo, another show and, as always, getting listenership up.

“I think a lot of people know of KURE, but aren’t sure of what it’s all about,” Macatangay says. “They don’t understand what college music is like and how it is different from commercial radio.

“We have been discussing these things at the station. We have also talked with the Daily and ISU9 and we hope to do some cross-promotion with the other forms of media [here on campus],” Macatangay continues. “It’s been a chronic problem but the support we do get from students is really positive.”

The reason KURE has such loyal listenership and the difference between KURE and other college radio stations, according to Macatangay, is that the people involved with station are in it for the love of what they are doing.

KURE DJs don’t get paid or receive school credit for working at the station.

“It’s really unique in the sense that it’s completely student run,” Macatangay says. “A lot of other college radio stations have financial support from their communications or journalism departments. Here, it’s more structured and we are using it for real practical purposes.”

But that’s not all.

“Plus our advisor is hands off and lets us do what we feel is right,” she adds. “All students involved get to make their own decisions.”

Another unique feature of KURE is its relationship with the local music scene.

Not only does KURE offer free promotion for local bands via announcements and fliers but the station also works closely with Ames label Bi-Fi Records.

“It’s a tight-knit family between us and the local music scene. We all support each other,” Macatangay says. “We also do a lot of cross promotion with the Bi-Fi kids.”

KURE has also recently revamped and moved its web site (www.kure885.org) in the station’s latest series of changes. The station also has plans to bring webscasting back to the site once they find a cost-efficient way to do so.

“The service we were getting [for webcasting] was free but they sent us a letter saying we were going to have to start paying for it,” Macatangay explains. “But we weren’t happy with the service we were getting anyway. So, if we’re going to start paying, we want better service.

Right now the station is looking for different avenues to broadcast over the Web, including doing things themselves.

Money has always been tight for the student-run station. Some of the equipment is over 50 years old, and since it is used virtually all day every day, constant maintenance is required.

According to Macatangay, most of the money raised by KURE goes to maintaining and upgrading equipment as all the music the station gets comes free from record companies.

The shows, which have been a success thus far, have provided some funding for the station but they have primarily been put on to increase awareness of the station, not only for the listeners but also to provide an opportunity for those who want to join the KURE team.

With the support of local artists, a core of ISU listeners and another solid show, KURE is ready to celebrate the end of another semester of college radio.