October 17, 1922 – After several months of test broadcasting, the Iowa City radio station – known then as WHAA – is “officially” on the air with a gala on-air commemoration including a talk by SUI President Walter A. Jessup.
WSUI in Iowa City – the oldest educational station west of the Mississippi River – got its start in 1911, prior to the era of broadcast radio, operating a “wireless telegraph” transmitter under the experimental radio call sign 9YA. The station began airing local voice broadcasts in 1919, and in June 1922, WHAA (as it was known then) was granted a full license by the U.S. Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC) for test broadcasting on the airwaves. In 1925, WHAA in Iowa City became WSUI.
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