GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio — There's a new radio station in Grand Rapids and it took its name from the river that makes the Wood County village special.
Josh David turned his love of radio during the pandemic into an actual station to listen to.
Nestled in an alleyway right off of Front Street is a small, ordinary white barn, but broadcasting inside is Towpath Radio. And it's quickly turning into a new voice for the village.
It sounds like a professional radio station and walking inside, it looks like one, too. David has a full-time job but has years of radio experience and wanted something to do during stay-at-home early on in the pandemic.
"I was out of work," he said, "kind of got bored and started listening to the old stations I used to work at and I just went online and Googled how to do an internet radio station."
So he invested over $1,000 into equipment, song licenses and everything to make it the same as an FM music station. But instead, it's an internet station. It plays oldies from the 50s to the 80s and everything in between. David says people appreciate it's local.
"If you have that person that's playing your favorite song, talking about the same thing they're you're doing every single day, you create that connection," he added.
Some local businesses discovered the station as well.
"Just need to listen to him knowing he's just down the street," Shops at Carson Block owner Joe Schroeder said.
He plays Towpath Radio in his business and says the customers love the music. But there's more the station is doing than just playing music.
"I turn it on so I can listen to the news pieces," he said. "He started covering village council meetings, which is great for getting the information on what's going on in the town."
Grand Rapids is a small town and David says he's not looking to make a lot of money. But he's proud of the new place that people living there can call their own.
If you are interested in listening, you can download the Towpath Radio app, tell Alexa to "play Towpath Radio" on any Alexa-enabled devices or simply stream it on TowpathRadio.com.
