(Photos by Russ Mitchell) A construction crew from Midstates Builders installs a new fiberglass dome for KICD's Doppler radar Friday morning in Spencer. The station received the dome and other radar equipment in exchange for a donation to Iowa State University.

Daily Reporter Staff

The forecast Friday morning called for a crane and some heavy lifting at radio station KICD.

A construction crew from Midstates Builders of Spencer helped the station install a new Doppler radar dome in north Spencer. The snow globe-shaped cap has the station's call letters on it and should be more durable in the elements.

"Microwaves have to be shot out through it and then bounce off the thunderstorm, then come back and go through the dome and rain that is cascading over it," said Mark Bruggom, the station's news editor and meteorologist.

The new dome should make that pathway a little easier.

The outgoing dome weathered storms for roughly 25 years, according to Bruggom, who had never seen what was under the old shell until Friday morning. Some bolts had to be drilled out to accommodate the switch.

The station's engineer, Joe Schloss, will have some new items added to his punch list. When the technology has a hiccup, he's is usually the one climbing the tower and using a trap door to get under the dome.

"We're going to do some repair and maintenance on it," Bruggom said. "That thing turns 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

The new shell came from an abandoned station at Iowa State University in Ames.

"For a donation, we were able to get their complete radar -- the dome, the wave guide, the display unit -- and we cannibalized it for parts," Bruggom said.

The station found a manageable summer day to get the casing installed. The swap took about two hours.

"You take the weather when you can get it and the crane when you can get it," Bruggom said. "Fortunately it's been a low-wind day and cool enough to be up there. Once the dome is on top, it's like working in an attic."