It operates at 50,000 watts, 24 hours a day from a two-tower facility near Dysart, IA on the Benton/Tama County line.

It provides secondary coverage to most of eastern Iowa during the day (as far west as Des Moines, as far south as Ottumwa and as far east as Dubuque and as far north as Mason City).

Due to the cardioid-shaped pattern aimed north, KXEL's skywave signal can be heard throughout the northern plains states and central Canadian provinces.

The station began broadcasting on July 14, 1942, and was the first radio facility in the United States to be granted 50,000 watts of power with its original license.

KXEL was so sure it would win the suit that it built a new studio large enough to accommodate a television station.