On May 9, 1922, WCAT (known as Wildcat Radio) became one of the first commercially licensed radio stations in South Dakota. A group of electrical engineering students from the Schools of Mines established the station, and it broadcast for 30 years until it went off the air in 1952.
Originally, the Wildcat Radio studios were located in the basement of the campus administration building. In 1928, the studios were moved to the third floor of the Prep building, and the signal was heard on the commercial AM band. Initially airing mostly news and informational programming, the station's popularity grew steadily through the 1940s and 50s as it carried basketball games and music that were unique for the era.
Unfortunately, WCAT met an abrupt end in 1952 when it was pressured off the air by a competing commercial station. Following the demise of WCAT-AM, KTEQ-FM was born. The effort to launch a new South Dakota Mines campus radio station started in 1969. The Tech Educational Radio Council was formed as the governing body of KTEQ. The first studio was located at Surbeck Center. Tower space for the transmitter was originally donated by KBHE-FM.
The first broadcast by KTEQ-FM came on August 7, 1971, opening with "Also Sprach Zarathustra." The first voice to be heard on KTEQ was that of Gary Brown. George McGovern was interviewed by the station during his 1972 presidential campaign.
KTEQ radio fell silent for a number of months during the mid-1980s but resumed broadcasts during the spring of 1987. This happened again in August 2000 because the station had to remove its transmitting hardware from the KOTA tower space. The station continued to transmit its programming over the internet and resumed radio broadcasts in 2015.
WCAT, Campus Radio for South Dakota in Rapid City began broadcasts on May 9, 1922.
Production assistance for This Day in South Dakota history comes from Brad Tennant, Ph.D., professor of history at Dakota Wesleyan University