KICD Summer Intern

Katie Johnson, this year’s summer intern at KICD Radio in northwest Iowa, took the station by storm, reports Dan Skelton. The Iowa State University senior enthusiastically responded to a wide variety of projects and work assignments. “Specifically, Katie learned to quote market information live, on-air, in an exact two-minute time frame. She also learned to write anf edit local and farm news for broadcast within time limitations. Katie conducted interviews in various formats. She learned to quiz traders on why markets were trading the way they were. She conducted long-form interviews on a variety of topics. Perhaps her favorite activity was interviewing 4-H youth at more than eight county fairs. A special project was a series of reports for broadcast on the H5N2 Avian Influenza (bird flu) and its impact on the poultry industry in Iowa.”  Dan continued, “Katie came to her internship with a desire to work public relations for a commodity organization, but she says her experience at KICD has her thinking now about a career in ag broadcasting. Katie is an Ag Communications major at Iowa State University, and she really has been a strong intern. Her last day with us is August 7.” Katie grew up in Northwest Iowa and graduated from Okoboji High School where she was very involved in 4-H, FFA and numerous speech and debate-related activities. She lived on a row crop and feedlot operation farm where she showed cattle, primarily black Angus steers. “My experiences on the farm instilled in me a passion for agriculture, which led me to attend Iowa State University. The first time I learned of the ag communications major, I knew it was the perfect fit for me. I will be graduating in December and plan to stay in agriculture, communicating its importance to the public. Where that may be yet, I’m not sure, but I know my skills and experiences gained this summer at KICD will take me far.”