As part of the next step in its signal expansion project, KRCU Public Radio at Southeast Missouri State University has installed a new antenna and other equipment at 88.7 FM Van Buren.The new antenna provides an improved signal strength at 50,000 watts, said General Manager Dan Woods.The new antenna and equipment allow KRCU to provide a better signal to listeners and reach more people than the temporary antenna allowed, he said. We are excited to be one step closer to completing this expansion and to better serve our listeners across southeast Missouri.The new antenna and equipment follow a frequency transfer to 88.7 FM in April and a recent move of the transmission site to Ellsinore, Missouri, from Van Buren, Missouri, as part of the expansions second phase. The move to Ellsinore initially resulted in a decrease in signal strength, from 100,000 to 12,000 watts.The final phase of the expansion project will be for FCC licensing and approval allowing the station to return to its original power level of 100,000 watts.Once the full project is completed, the station will reach nearly 80,000 listeners in the communities of Poplar Bluff, Van Buren, Ellsinore, Doniphan and Piedmont in Missouri, and in northern Arkansas.The Board of Regents approved the purchase of the station in September 2019. The expansion has been funded through a generous gift from an anonymous donor. Annual operating costs for KDMC will be covered through corporate underwriting and individual donations.KRCU Public Radio is owned and operated by Southeast Missouri State University with studios located behind Academic Hall on SEMOs main campus in Cape Girardeau. KRCU went on the air from Southeast Missouri State University in 1976. The station transitioned from a student-run radio station to an NPR member station in November 1990. The station expanded its coverage area in 2006 to the Farmington area. This is the stations second major expansion.KRCU Public Radio is a National Public Radio member station and is located on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University and broadcasts on 90.9 FM, KRCU in Cape Girardeau, 88.9 FM, KSEF in Ste. Genevieve and Farmington and 88.7 FM, KDMC in Van Buren and Poplar Bluff. KRCU can be heard anywhere in the world at www.krcu.org.