Some changes have already taken place and more are in the offing at a pair of radio stations familiar to many area residents.
March 5 officially marked the beginning of a new era at KUNQ (99.3 FM) and KBTC (1250 AM), which both are run by Media Professionals Inc. (MPI) and emanate from the same studio on Highway B between Houston and Raymondville. That’s when Texas County resident Justin Dixon became the firm’s new president and majority shareholder.
“In our new direction, we’re focusing on being aggressively active in community involvement,” said MPI secretary-treasurer and business manager George Sholtz. “We’re basically going to be community driven and we’ll be much more visible – in a positive way.”
On the FM side, the 3,000-watt 99.3 will continue as “Big Country 99.3, The Rooster.” But 1250 AM now features conservative Christian talk radio provided by American Family Radio (AFR), heard via streaming during daytime hours.
“It’s now the only conservative talk radio available in our area,” Sholtz said.
KBTC has a 1,000 signal and can be heard in about a 20-mile radius from its origination point. Sholtz envisions using it for a “story time” show (with local residents reading stories) and other community-oriented programs and features.
MPI’s push toward increased community involvement already has five area school districts (Houston, Cabool, Plato, Summersville and Mountain Grove) on board with a new “Big Country Cares” feature that airs at 3 p.m. weekdays in which superintendents provide state-of-the-district updates. The superintendents provide their report by sending in an MP3 audio file.
“We asked 10 districts to participate and five are at this point,” Dixon said. “We would welcome the others in a heartbeat, or any other rural district in our listening area.”
The five participating school districts have been offered a chance to have students run KBTC for a block of time each day.
“I think it would be an amazing educational opportunity for kids,” Sholtz said. “They could all sort of things, from English to speaking to business. Yes, the AM sound quality isn’t good, because it’s AM radio. But it’s still radio.”
Sports programming on KUNQ currently includes live broadcasts of Mountain Grove High School games, and options for future broadcasts of Houston games are being considered.
Sholtz pointed out that Big Country 99 occupies a unique niche in the Ozarks, as all similar stations in the region either originate from or benefit from the proximity of a sizable city.
“We’re marketing ourselves as the only rural radio station available in the Ozarks,” Sholtz said. “The other ones that compete with us have listenership that comes from within city limits, like Lebanon, West Plains and Springfield. The majority of our listeners come from rural America, like Houston, Roby, Mountain Grove, Summersville and Plato.
“All the little towns – that’s us.”
Dixon and KUNQ program director Rocky Gilbert (a.k.a. “Rockstar in the mornings”) also intend to become major players in Christian concert promotion, and have already arranged a sold-out appearance by the Newsboys in Mountain Grove. The concerts will coincide with a notable Christian influence on both MPI stations.
“One of our personal agendas is to share the gospel with the unsuspecting listener,” Sholtz said. “Our station agenda is to be an asset to the community at large. I think we can do both together.”
MPI will continue promoting and sponsoring country music events, too, including the annual Boot Scoot Bang June 19 in Cabool (featuring Granger Smith and Josh Thompson).
The bottom line is, it’s all about community from here on.
“The difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is your point of view,” Sholtz said. “When you come to an obstacle, you get a chance to overcome it and be better for it. We’re getting that opportunity right now.”
To find out more about Big Country 99.3, log onto www.bigcountry99.com, or call 417-967-3353. Information about 1250 AM is also available at that phone number.
We’re basically going to be community driven and we’ll be much more visible – in a positive way.”