Before any TV stations were on the air in the State of Iowa, radio station KRNT-AM - Des Moines, in cooperation with RCA and International Harvester, gave the 1946 Iowa State Fair visitors a preview of television. The demonstration was staged in the International Harvester tent. Closed circuit TV programs were produced using KRNT-AM personalities & Staff.
Bob Cannon, whose father was a KRNT engineer, supplied his fascinating picture story, to Des Moines Broadcasting.com website, which is believed to be Iowa's first exposure to television.
Bob Cannon was a teenager at the time and worked as one of the camera men. Some of his presentation can be seen below.(Click on Photo for the Description) ![]()
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Besides closed circuit TV in the International Harvester Tent, the flat bed truck camera televised the harness races and the auto races
from a vantage point inside the race track at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
All the Television equipment came from the laboratories of RCA Victor, Camden, N.J.
KRNT Television went on-air in July 1955 - Today it is KCCI-TV Channel 8, Des Moines, Iowa.
The complete set of photos can be found at the Des Moines Broadcasting Website.