About Us

The Story of Iowa Catholic Radio.

In the beginning, there was a voice.

In the beginning, there was a call.

In the beginning, this beginning, there was a man named Chuck

In 1976, Chuck Putbrese’s brother had purchased a country radio station in the great state of Iowa. He was trying to convince Chuck to move back from Washington, DC and turn it into an evangelical station. Chuck laughed to himself, and said, “After I have worked in the private sector and 20 years in the Air Force, shall I have this pleasure?” And we imagine that God said, “Why did Chuck laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

And God sent Msgr. Frank Bognanno to Washington, DC to speak at a prayer retreat that Chuck Putbrese was attending. Msgr. Bognanno encouraged Chuck to take seriously this call to start the radio station. As if God said, “Go to your country and your kindred and your father’s house in the land that I have shown you.” And so it was that Chuck Putbrese sold his house in DC and went back to the state of Iowa, where he and his son ran a radio station.

Many years later, there was a man named Joe Teeling. In those days a voice came to Joe Teeling during his regular Sunday Mass attendance. The voice was speaking to him to start a Catholic radio station. “How can this be,” thought Joe, “when I have no experience in radio?

He went to Monsignor Frank Bognanno to tell him what troubled him. Joe thought surely that Msgr. Bognanno would heal his thoughts and soothe the spirit. However, when Msgr. Bognanno heard Joe’s story, he knew instantly that what Joe needed wasn’t silence- it was signals.

It so happened that John Putbrese, son of Chuck, had approached Msgr. Bognanno earlier that same year with the idea to introduce Catholic programming to his evangelical radio station. 

John became the station’s majority owner in 2001 and reclassified it as a non-profit to finally introduce Catholic programming on the air. John’s wife was unsure about the transition. 

Seeking guidance, the couple went to a Catholic radio conference. There, they sought out Mother Angelica, the founder of EWTN. John’s wife thought, “If she just speaks to me, I will be sure.” 

At once, Mother Angelica paused in her path and walked towards the couple. And the Holy Spirit moved once more.

Joe Teeling, who wanted to purchase the radio station to become Iowa Catholic Radio, began fundraising quietly, though it was slow work. A friend pushed him gently to take a holy hour to reflect and pray on his feeling of discouragement. 

Just when he had resolved to do this and sat in the presence of the Lord, Joe received a call that an angel donor, Don Lamberti, had decided to give a large donation to the radio. All this took place to fulfill what the Spirit commanded. Joe came out of his hour of prayer, and began the work of Iowa Catholic Radio.

Today, with more than 1,500 donors and a wide array of local programming, the word of God moves through the people in the state of Iowa through 8 signals statewide.

So what’s next for Iowa Catholic Radio? What does the future hold? The vision of the next chapters is clear: cover the whole state of Iowa with access to Catholic radio. But not just radio: Iowa Catholic Radio is growing into a full-fledged media company. Using social networks, podcasts, and video, we are harnessing the power of the network to defend and to evangelize our Catholic Faith. More media options gives us the opportunity to save more souls. From border to border, and river to river we want to reach every person in the state of Iowa and beyond. We want to reach every person in every corner of the state and bring them the healing word of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We continue to pray for each other. We are praying for all of you who hear the word of God on Iowa Catholic Radio. Thank you for praying for us and for each other. We cannot wait to see what happens in the next twenty years of Iowa Catholic Radio. God bless.

Story compiled and written by Bridget Sheaff 

April 02, 2025