Surfing the radio stations in Central Iowa can be disappointing if you don’t find the heavily saturated market of country and Top 40 appealing.

There is an alternative, and it’s more assessable than you may think.

Iowa State’s student-run radio station KURE has been broadcasting at the frequency 88.5 FM in Friley Hall since July of 1996. Standing for University Radio Entertainment, KURE provides a wide range of musical styles.

“We try to provide an educational facility and to entertain students of the Iowa State and Ames community,” Matt Baker, general manager and ska director at KURE, said.

The KURE programming list incorporates shows containing different styles of music, including: blues, ska, punk, foreign, industrial, jazz, metal, rock, alternative, classic rock and local music.

The station also provides coverage of all ISU hockey, men’s basketball and baseball games, and next year it will cover women’s basketball.

KURE also offers shows for the politically minded. “GSB Radio,” a call-in show hosted by GSB President Rob Wiese, allows students to voice opinions about campus issues.

Aside from sports, politics and news, the KURE staff works toward promoting different styles of music to its listeners.

This includes two ska shows. Baker, senior in journalism and mass communication and host of “Cosmo’s House of Ska,” spins his records every Wednesday and Friday from 4 to 6 p.m.

“The goal of my show is to bring a style of music to Ames that wasn’t here before,” Baker said. “I’m able to play any sort of music I want, which is important to me since the most important thing is the music.”

“Around here there’s not a big punk and ska scene,” Doug Brown, sophomore in business and host of “Land of Skaz,” said. “So I try to give the style some exposure.”

Brown added that he likes KURE because the attitude at the station is really easy-going and there is relatively no pressure.

“Land of Skaz,” airs Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

KURE production director and disc jockey Doug Bywater said he hosts a rock/alternative and a classic rock show and tries to play songs that are not heard on other local stations.

“I like to sit back and cater to what people want,” Bywater, sophomore in pre-engineering science, said. “I encourage requests. It’s a student radio station, and it’s for the students.”

Disc jockey Joe Benesh, senior in architecture, agrees with Bywater on the importance of listeners and tries to get them involved also.

“I like to have fun on the air and to help others [appreciate the music,]” Benesh said.

In an attempt to get listeners to participate, Benesh will play an obscure record and give away a dollar bill to the first caller who can guess what the song is.

According to Baker, KURE is in the process of planning events for Veishea that may include putting on a street dance or a concert featuring local acts and live remote interviews during Taste of Veisha and the parade.