The 1995 year in local radio is over. Here's a capsule look at some of the highlights that made for another exciting season on the airwaves.
- JANUARY: The New Year began with three format changes. KSOS-AM switches from oldies music to traditional country music; KTCE stops simulcasting KRGQ and carries an adult rock 'n' roll satellite format; and KSRR begins nostalgia music during the day and continues its former LDS contemporary music format at night and on Sundays . . . Mills Crenshaw and Ken Hamblin are fired by KCNR. The "SuperTalk" station begins targeting issues-driven talk radio more and revises its lineup, bringing in Rick Taylor to replace Crenshaw. It also begins a new morning show - "The Rogue's Gallery" with Rogue Matthews . . . Eagle tickets dominate radio giveaways . . . KBER's "Mick and Allen" have "Gargle that Tune" listener contests . . . Bob Edwards, host of NPR's "Morning Edition," visits Logan and KUSU-FM for a special fund-raiser . . . The Southern Utah University FM station, KGSU, changes its call letters to KSUU and has a new slogan - "Radio 911" . . . KALL begins airing a new national radio program, "The Bob Grant Show" . . . KCNR morning host Rogue Matthews and new afternoon host Rick Taylor raise eyebrows with their extensive anti-LDS Church and culture discussions . . . KUFR adds two translators for Ogden and Utah County coverage . . . KMGR switches from LDS music to a Spanish format.- FEBRUARY: KRGQ's Spanish station at AM-1550 goes off the air . . . KRCL begins a new six-week radio series, "Day is Done," a collection of broadcasts by Utah storytellers and poets . . . KXRK celebrates its third birthday with another free concert party - "Great Xpectations III" . . . KSL sponsors its 19th annual Radiothon for Primary Children's Medical Center and raises a record $211,237 . . . National Public Radio and KUER offer roses for Valentine's Day for those who contribute to the station. It also airs a special series for Black History Month . . . KSFI leads the Arbitron fall 1994 ratings for adult listeners, ages 25-54, while KXRK is tops for ages 18-34 and KUTQ is the most-listened-to teen station . . . Jon and Trish on KLZX have listeners try to eat a pound of lard in a gross radio contest . . . Len Allen of KLO celebrates his 69th birthday, and the Weber County Commission honors him by proclaiming Feb. 6 in his honor . . . Tom Barberi of KALL is stabbed in the leg on the way to work by an unknown assailant. He still goes on the air as usual . . . "Jon and Dan" of KLZX sit in a hot tub outside during a snowstorm to raise funds for the American Heart Association on Valentine's Day . . . KSOP and KTVX begin a Disneyland promotion and its new Indiana Jones adventure ride . . . KSL makes various hourly adjustments, including adding one extra hour to the "Grant and Amanda" show.
- MARCH: KRCL celebrates its 15th year with the "Exploring Community" spring radiothon/fund-raiser . . . Gary Waldron leaves KUTQ and KZHT as program director and general manager. Starley Bush assumes general-manager duties, but the stations begin looking for a new program director . . . KBER observes its ninth birthday . . . KTUR names four new managers for its expansion in Spanish radio . . . Three Salt Lake stations, KMXB, KUMT and KCPX, go up for sale . . . Debbie Dujanovic of KTVX, Ch. 4 news, begins doing the morning news on KKAT, too . . . KUER jumps the gun on its 35th birthday celebration in June . . . KSL's Rex Campbell retires after nearly 50 years at the station . . . KCPW adds a new frequency at FM-105.1 to better serve listeners in Salt Lake County. The station has also added a new program, "Marketplace Morning Report" . . . Scott MacNeil, KVRI program director and morning co-host, leaves the station . . . "The Sports Babe" on ESPN Radio and KISN-AM hangs up on callers from Salt Lake City, but her show remains popular locally . . . KISN-AM/FM is in the process of being sold . . . KSRR has a new program, "Patrick Henry Speaks," airing Wednesday evenings . . . KUJJ changes its call letters to KUTC.
- APRIL: The 10-year anniversary is reached for the 1985 broadcast of "We Are the World," orchestrated by two Utah DJs at KZAN, Jim Michelson and Tracy Chapman, who are now working at KKAT . . . "Jon and Dan" of KLZX go on strike for more listeners . . . "Kerry and Bill" on KXRK decide the "alternative" description of their music isn't fitting - it's dead, so they make plans to bury the word in a cemetery in May . . . "Sports Night" is a new sports talk show that premieres on KSL radio . . . The TV commercial with "Jon and Dan" being doused with a fire hose won top honors in the humor category at this year's national Telly Awards . . . KSFI leads the latest trend ratings, while KSOP becomes the top country station . . . KALL and KODJ donate $30,000 to local nonprofit groups . . . David Bresnahan, West Jordan Republican from the Utah House of Representatives, is Utah's newest talk radio host . . . Gary and Scotty are taken off the KKAT morning show, and "Kidd Cassidy" from Las Vegas replaces them. `Young Country" becomes the station's new theme.
- MAY: KTKK celebrates its 30th anniversary . . . KSL hits its 73rd birthday as Utah's oldest station . . . KUMT is in the process of being sold . . KXRK stages a funeral for the outdated word "alternative," complete with a casket and burial in a cemetery . . . Leigh Armistead leaves KBZN and Falene Nemeth replaces her on the station's evening program . . . "Fisher, Todd and Erin" have a rare telephone interview with Elton John . . . KLZX dumps its classic rock format, has a three-day automated countdown and switches to a country music format. Its top DJs, "Jon and Dan" and "Trish," decide not to be a part of the station . . . KSFI makes a clean sweep at No. 1 in the winter Arbitron ratings . . . Rogue Matthews of KCNR helps raise $2,000 to help Hawthorne Elementary School students attend a conference in Rhode Island . . . Half of the management team at KTUR radio resigns, following an alleged breach of contract . . . KBEE are the new call letters for KVRI.
- JUNE: Christopher Cross plays at a special KSFI concert at Franklin Quest Field . . . KLZX changes it call letters to KUBL . . . KCNR fires morning host Rogue Matthews and hires Todd Herman . . . KUBL begins a new countdown toward its new personalities . . . Charlee Simons and Liz Harris are the new morning team on KZHT . . . Mills Crenshaw begins a new morning show on KTKK after being off the air for five months . . . KUBL unveils its new personalities, with "The Breakfast Flakes" - Ray Edwards, Gina Micciulla and Simone Seikaly - doing mornings . . . KCNR talk show hosts Todd Herman and Rick Taylor announce they'll get married in July - despite Utah's same sex marriage law . . . KSOS switches from oldies to a classic rock format . . . KSOS changes it call letters to KLZX to truly replace the former classic rock station.
- JULY: Merrill Cook begins a new afternoon talk show on KALL . . . Kevin Stanfield of KODJ wins a Silver Microphone Award for his "Armed & Deadly" public service announcement. Stanfield moves to KALL as news anchor on the Merrill Cook show . . . First National Broadcasting, owner of KLZX and KSOS, purchases KLO . . . KALL, KKAT and KODJ are purchased by Regent Communications . . . Ricklen Nobis returns to KUER after a 10-month leave of absence . . . "Jon and Dan" go country and return to FM-93.3 - KUBL - after a three-month absence.
- AUGUST: KSFI is the top-rated station for ages 12-plus and for adults ages 25-54. Sister station KRSP is No. 1 for listeners ages 18-34. KSL's ratings increase 25 percent among adults ages 25-54 . . . Dain Craig and Peggy Ijams of KSFI lead the morning show ratings for all ages and also for adults. Mick Martin and Allen Handy from KBER move up to first-place in the morning ratings for adults ages 18-34 . . . Former DJ Robin Mueller leaves the KODJ morning show. She's replaced by Joe Jackson from KRGQ. Mueller replaces Kevin Stanfield on KODJ . . . KODJ also hires Angel Deville as Dickie Shannon's co-host. Chuck Clifford becomes the new morning DJ on KRGQ . . . KSL reaffirms it will remain with the CBS Radio Network . . . "Jon and Dan" of KUBL invade Nashville . . . KISN-AM celebrates its second anniversary as a sports radio station.
- SEPTEMBER: KUTC, alias "KWJJ" loses its lease on FM-106.5 and a new country station, KBKK is supposed to start up, but KKAT ends up simulcasting on the frequency for almost a week until KBKK's equipment is ready and a gold country format arrives in the Salt Lake area . . . KSL begins airing a string of some 66 college and pro football games the next three months . . . "Dr. Doug" returns to the KZHT lineup . . . Stations galore set up booths at the Utah State Fair . . . KCNR talk show hosts Todd Herman and Rick Taylor are temporarily suspended and taken off the air after displaying a tattered U.S. flag at the State Fair. They return to the air later in the month . . . KSL-TV has countless commercials on many local radio stations about its switch from the CBS to NBC network . . . KAPN lands the broadcast deal for Grizzlies hockey games.
- OCTOBER: Pat Gray replaces Mark Waldi on the KRSP morning show. Waldi left to work for a Boise radio station . . . KSFI sponsors an afternoon for kids at the Alien Encounters haunted house, where children get a daylight look at how it works. Food donations go to the Utah Food Bank . . . Radio stations aplenty give away cash - from $100 to $10,000 a shot as the fall ratings period winds down . . . KRSP collects donations for the Utah Food Bank . . . O.J. Simpson's trial result dominates talk radio shows early in the month . . . Tom Bock begins working as a fill-in DJ on KBZN . . . Aerotraffic changes its name to Sky Wolf . . . KKDS celebrates its fifth birthday with a big party for kids at Jungle Jim's . . . KUTQ DJs Richard Cano and Kevin McCormick do a parody of the Ford Bronco O.J. Simpson chase across the Salt Lake Valley as a climax to their O.J./Mexico trip contest . . . KUER has a day-long series of special programs for Halloween . . . KSL begins it largest contest ever, with $60,000 in prizes. The station also signs an exclusive 1996 Summer Olympics broadcast deal . . KCPW holds its fall fund-raiser . . . Citadel Communications, owner of KBEE, KUBL, KCNR and KAPN, promotes Steve Kelly to the newly created operations manager position for the four Salt Lake radio stations . . . Danny Kramer and Mark Van Wagoner on KDYL split up, with Kramer moving to afternoons to expand the station's position there . . . KTKK is sold to United Broadcasting, a new local company.
- NOVEMBER: KSFI and KRSP lead the summer Arbitron ratings. "Dain and Peggy," morning hosts of KSFI, lead all the main morning show ratings . . . "Kerry and Bill" of KXRK visit London . . . Tom Barberi and Bob Hendricks go to Washington, D.C., to do their morning show live for two days . . . KUMT is purchased by Trumper Communications and announces a switch to an adult rock format. DJs Robin Morales, Tricia Griffith, Evan Lake and Zeb Morris are announced as new DJs for the new station . . . KCNR switches from ABC to the CNN Radio Network, meaning Paul Harvey is now heard only on KSOS-AM along the Wasatch Front . . . The talk radio battle between KTKK and KCNR really heats up as "K-Talk" threatens to copyright some of KCNR's regular phrases or words, like "Supertalk."
- DECEMBER: Amanda Dickson leaves the KSL morning radio show to work for a law firm . . . KQMB, a new adult contemporary music station, premieres on FM-102.7. It features today's hits and yesterday's favorites. Don Bishop is the station's morning host . . . KUER sponsors a Christmas food drive for the needy . The station also airs a variety of special programs for the holidays . . . KISN-FM gives away a $3,500 holiday shopping spree. The station is also involved in a "Helping Hands" charity effort and another Christmas fund-raiser with Kmart . . . The "Mick and Allen" show on KBER gets a new producer with Nick Skinner . . . KALL creates three parody songs on Enid Greene Waldholtz's financial situation . . . Gina Barberi leaves KXRK and becomes the midday DJ on KUTQ . . . KISN AM/FM general manager Randy Rogers resigns . . . KXRK begins broadcasting on FM-96.3, instead of FM-96.1, with a stronger transmitter and better location on Mount Vision in the Oquirrh Mountains . . . The KISN-AM ("Sports 570") transmitter is damaged to the tune of $500,000 by arson. The station gets back on the air quickly with a backup transmitter.