Black Radio Station sold in Des Moines

American Family Radio purchased KJMC, the only radio station serving Des Moines’ Black community, according to a filing with the FCC.

By Gretchen Lembcke Pena

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Uncategorized

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July 22, 2025

Popular Christian broadcast station American Family Radio recently announced that it bought KJMC, the only radio station in the city of Des Moines serving the Black community.

The asset purchase agreement, filed on July 15 by the Federal Communications Commission, states that American Family Radio will pay Minority Communications $1.125 million for ownership of KJMC. Wayne Ford, former president of radio station KUCB and former State Representative, shared the possible questions the community will have about this news.

“The community will ask the question: ‘Are you going to play gospel?’” Ford says. “This is a Black station. What will they do since this is the only minority radio station in the city of Des Moines?”

The American Family Radio owns five other radio stations across Iowa, including KAYP, KBDC, KIAD, KWVI, and KAYA.

Author

Gretchen Lembcke Pena

Gretchen Lembcke Peña is a multimedia bilingual journalist originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She holds a B.A in Multimedia Journalism from Lynn University and recently earned her M.A in Bilingual Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Her reporting centers on community and cross-cultural storytelling with a focus on representation. Gretchen has long been passionate about writing surrounding social issues, arts, culture, and entertainment, which led her to pursue journalism. Outside the newsroom, she spends her time tackling her reading goal for the week.