In 1975, Avco decided to exit broadcasting. As a result, WLWD lost its grandfathered protection, and had to be sold off separately from WLWT and WLWC. WLWD ended up being the last of Avco's television stations to be sold off, going to Grinnell College in Iowa for $13 million in June 1975; the acquisition made Grinnell College one of the few universities to own a commercial television station. The school changed the call letters to WDTN shortly after the sale closed in spring 1976. Not long after Grinnell took over, WDTN increased the height on its broadcast tower and began operating at full effective radiated power, increasing its coverage area. (The WLWD call sign was used from April 2003 until April 2010 for an FM radio station serving Lima, now WBKS. The call sign has been used since October 12, 2010 by Daystar station WLWD-LD (channel 20), licensed to Springfield.)