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Wikipedia / KIWR

KIWR (89.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an alternative format. Based in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the station serves the Omaha Metro area. The station is licensed to Iowa Western Community College. The station has broadcast alternative rock since January 1, 1996. Prior to that, it played classical music and jazz.

The Morning Fiasco

Jake Ryan hosts weekday mornings from 6:00am to 10:00am with traffic, weather and general randomness. Jake has also served as the 'Voice of the Reivers' for Iowa Western's Championship winning athletic department since 2006.

Middays

Tom 'Skinman' Skinner drops in after the morning show from 10:00am to 2:00pm Monday through Friday. Skinman rolls through the lunch hour with requests from noon to 1:00pm on 'The Nooner'. 'Old Skool Wednesdays' take over from noon to 2:00pm every Wednesday as Skin churns out old school alternative and rock hits. Fridays on the Nooner, it's 'Nothing but Covers' as Skinman plays covers from River artists and covers of artists played on the River from noon until 2:00pm. Skinman has been a staple in both the Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska markets, notably working at '93 K-Rock' and '104-1 The Blaze'.

Amplified Afternoons

Amplified Afternoons hits the airwaves with Corey weekday afternoons from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, which includes segments like "Wack Attack", stories about crazy fights and attacks; "the Four @ 4:00", everyday a listener gets to hear their four song choices; "Daily Flight to Florida", Bizarre news stories from Florida; "Nude Dude", stories about naked men (and sometimes women) that make the news; and Road Rage, which is all request music from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Corey graduated the Media Studies program and worked at Journal Broadcast Group at both CD 105.9 and Channel 94.1 (formerly Channel 97.7) before returning to the airwaves of KIWR in 2012. Corey is also part of the duo VVilloughy, a Roots/Folk/Americana Music Duo (sometimes trio) with a focus on original music. VVilloughy is the Winner of Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award in Outstanding Americana/Folk for 2023 (awarded in 2024) and are also OEAA nominees in 2022, 2021, 2024, 2025.

Weeknight and weekend programming

Students attending the Media Studies Program at Iowa Western Community College may be heard when standard programming played, that includes the hours of 6:00pm to midnight Monday thru Thursday, 6:00pm to 9:00pm on Fridays and all day long on Saturdays. 89.7 The River has always been a learning tool for students attending the media studies program at IWCC.

Reiver Sports Network

During the fall, the sounds of the 'Reiver Sports Network' take the airwaves for Iowa Western Football. The Reivers, under head coach Scott Strohmeier, have participated in the last five NJCAA National Championship games and won the title in 2022, 2023 and 2025. Jake Ryan handles the play-by-play duties as the 'Voice of the Reivers', while fellow Reivers alum Russ Nelsen serves as his longtime color commentator. IWCC alum Josh Odson handles the statistics while Tony Boone provides additional color commentary and insight on the broadcasts.

Specialty shows

KIWR hosts several specialty radio programs that are not subsets of the regular programming. This includes Pacific Street Blues which airs Sundays from 9:00am to Noon. Pacific Street Blues was awarded a 'KBA' or Keeping the Blues Alive award in 2010. PSB host, Rick Galusha, has been nominated to the Nebraska Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Portions of PSB have aired on several English radio stations over the years. Podcasts of the program can be heard online (https://anchor.fm/pacific-street-blues-and-americana) Other specialty and syndicated programs include Skratch N Sniff, Subterranean, and the heavy metal outlet, Sunday School, Acoustic Café, Mountain Stage(the station's only NPR program), New Day Rising, Passport Approved, and Planet O (local/regional music), the Omaha Metro's longest running program dedicated to local and regional music.

Signal

KIWR's signal covers much of Southwest Iowa and the metropolitan area of both Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska. At 100,000 watts, the signal carries west of Lincoln, Nebraska, south of Nebraska City, Nebraska, as well as north just shy of Sioux City, Iowa and much of the distance between Omaha and Des Moines, Iowa. It's been said that under the right conditions, the station can be heard as far away as Burlington, Iowa.

Festivals

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