Several important matters are pending in Congress, including negotiations for a new government funding bill and calls for the federal government to provide assistance to farmers who are facing their worst financial crisis in decades. Joining me on Friday’s “Arkansas Week” to discuss the latest was Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Washington Correspondent Alex Thomas.
With just over two weeks left in the federal fiscal year, a spending plan will need to be passed by that deadline to avoid a government shutdown or the need for a short-term fix. The White House is encouraging Congress to pass a stopgap spending bill to extend funding through the end of January. But U.S. Rep. Steve Womack (R-District 3) wants a spending plan to be passed this month.
He sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which on Wednesday voted to advance the 12 funding bills needed for the plan. In a statement later that day, Womack said, “It’s now time for the rest of Congress to finish the job, leave Biden-Harris funding levels in the past, and pass the FY26 appropriations bills that are attuned to the current needs of the American people. This Congress has already shown it can exceed expectations and meet tough deadlines. I strongly urge my colleagues to bring that same energy and commitment to funding the government through regular order.”
In the second segment of the program, Arkansas State Broadband Office Director Glen Howie spoke with me about the state’s application for a federal grant which aims to achieve universal high-speed internet service throughout the state. After years of work to develop the extensive proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, it was submitted on Sept. 4. He’s confident on the prospects for the proposal.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
An amazing project to honor many Arkansas musicians who were influential across a broad range of genres is being planned for North Little Rock. Artist Kevin Kresse, best known for sculpting an eight-foot-tall bronze statue of Johnny Cash that was unveiled last year in the U.S. Capitol, is planning to make busts of 19 additional musicians, along with one of industry executive Al Bell.
The busts, which are scheduled to be completed in 2029, will be displayed in the ATG Pavilion in Argenta Plaza. They will be anchored by a full-size replica of the Cash statue, to be made using the same mold that created the statue for the Capitol. I discussed what’s being planned with Kresse and project Campaign Chair John Gaudin on “Arkansas Week,” which aired Friday, August 29 on Arkansas PBS.
In addition to the busts being placed in the pavilion, replica busts will be provided to the hometowns of each musician. Fans travel from around the world to see the places where Cash, Levon Helm, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and others grew up. This will help those communities honor their legacies.
Below is a complete list of the Arkansans being honored and the towns that will receive busts:
Johnny Cash — Kingsland
Louis Jordan — Brinkley
Al Green — Forrest City
Levon Helm — Marvell
Glen Campbell — Delight
Florence Price — Little Rock
Pharoah Sanders — North Little Rock
Lefty Frizzell — El Dorado
William Grant Still — Little Rock
Charlie Rich — Colt
Sonny Boy Williamson — Helena
Scott Joplin — Texarkana
Big Bill Broonzy — Pine Bluff
Jimmy Driftwood — Mountain View
Conway Twitty — Helena
Sister Rosetta Tharpe — Cotton Plant
Granny Almeda Riddle — Heber Springs
Al Bell — North Little Rock
Albert King — Osceola
Ronnie Hawkins — Fayetteville
Howlin Wolf — West Memphis
In the second segment of the program, I talked with Dr. Pearl McElfish, director of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Institute for Community Health Innovation about efforts to improve maternal health. She provided an assessment of postpartum care, which is especially dire in rural areas. The institute is working to reach new mothers through a combination of telemedicine, mobile clinics and remote monitoring, she said.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
The U.S. House of Representatives began its traditional August recess one day earlier than planned this week. Amid divisions among Republicans over the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned on Wednesday. When members reconvene on Sept. 2, a key priority will be reaching a government funding agreement by the end of the month to avert a government shutdown or the need for a short-term continuing resolution.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Washington Correspondent Alex Thomas joined me on Arkansas PBS to discuss the key roles played by two members of the state’s congressional delegation. Rep. Steve Womack (R-Rogers) is chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, and Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) is chair of the Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Congress will need to get through 12 bills before the Sept. 30 deadline. Thomas said Womack told him last week he wants both chambers to pass the appropriation measures in that time rather than a continuing resolution, which would maintain current government funding levels.
We also discussed Thomas’ recent reporting on legislation by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Hot Springs) to reform the National Environmental Policy Act, Rep. French Hill’s (R-Little Rock) bills to regulate digital assets like cryptocurrency, and agricultural provisions included in the recently-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act which would normally be part of a Farm Bill.
In the second segment of “Arkansas Week,” I was joined by the leaders of two projects under construction in Little Rock to create villages for people experiencing homelessness. Both will feature tiny homes and offer support services, but with different long-term goals for residents.
Errin Stanger is founder and CEO of Providence Park, which is being built in partnership with Pulaski County and will offer a permanent place to live for those who have been struggling with chronic homelessness. Residents will be expected to pay rent, though there will be work opportunities there. The other project is the Little Rock Micro Home Village, which is being overseen by Kevin Howard, director of the city’s Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs. It will provide transitional housing, with 80 units for individuals and families, along with a 32-bed emergency shelter.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
I’m excited to share audio of a newly-digitized recording of legendary Little Rock R&B station KOKY-AM 1440 on August 8, 1975. The 90-minute cassette, recorded from the air signal, captures a strong presentation by midday disc jockey Harold Torrence. He was clearly very busy, talking between nearly every song and bringing together the many elements on the air.
A recording of Little Rock’s KOKY-AM 1440 on August 8, 1975.
The station was heavily promoting its summer “Stash the Cash” contest, which involved $250 being hidden somewhere in Little Rock. That’s the equivalent of about $1,500 today. 12 clues hinting at where the money was located were being broadcast and printed on KOKY’s Soul Express Music Survey, which could be picked up at businesses throughout central Arkansas.
There are lots of great jingles in between current and classic R&B hits. KOKY aired national newscasts from Mutual Black Network News, which was created in 1972 specifically for stations targeting Black audiences. The lead story in this recording was the death that day of jazz musician Julian “Cannonball” Adderly at age 46. There’s also part of a local newscast, but the recording doesn’t include the local anchor’s name. Side A of the cassette ran out midway through the newscast and perhaps he gave his name at the end. I’ve prepared a full index of what’s in the recording, including quotes of the DJ patter, which you can read here.
AUDIO: Little Rock radio station KOKY-AM 1440 on August 8, 1975 from 10:10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. The music has been edited to only include the beginnings and ends of songs to avoid potential copyright violations.
KOKY was put on the air Oct. 8, 1956, initially calling itself the “Greater Little Rock’s Ebony Station,” with studios at 1604 West 14th Street. The FCC had awarded the license that year to John M. McLendon, who also owned three radio stations in Mississippi. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas has a detailed history of the station, which was the first in the state to have a Black staff and to be programming for a Black audience. Among KOKY’s early DJs was Central High School student Al Bell, who would later become co-owner of Stax Records in Memphis.
Nineteen years later in this recording, KOKY was calling itself “Soul Express Radio” and had moved eight blocks to 723 West 14th Street. After initially broadcasting a 1000-watt daytime-only signal, within a few years it was approved for a power upgrade to 5,000 watts, which more effectively covered central Arkansas.
KOKY had been sold several times over the years while retaining its format until 1979 when a new owner, Forus Communication of Arkansas, changed the programming to religious and the call letters to KITA. The studios remained in the building on 14th Street for decades.
The skinny building that housed studios for KOKY-AM 1440 in 1975 at 723 West 14th Street in Little Rock. The photo was taken on June 7, 2025, with the building currently housing a music production studio. Photo: Michael Hibblen
The building is now home to Braceface Music Studio, according to its website, with a banner on the outside that says BFM Studio. A tall radio microwave tower secured with guy wires still stands behind the building, which I assume is to relay programming for KLAL-FM, Alice 107.7, from Cumulus Media’s building in west Little Rock to the broadcast tower at Wrightsville. The FM station, which hit the air in March 1992 and also had studios in the building, was originally known as Heaven 107-7.
An FCC database shows the AM 1440 signal in Little Rock is, as of this writing, off the air. With the decline of AM radio, many companies are abandoning their licensed frequencies.
The KOKY call letters — after disappearing from the radio dial for years — were revived in the late 1990s by corporate radio chain Citadel Broadcasting when it was planning to put an urban adult contemporary station on the air at FM 102.1. The company’s Director of Programming “Broadway” Joe Booker told the Arkansas Times in a 2019 story that he felt the call letters “would be perfect” for the format. And indeed, KOKY-FM 102.1 consistently ranks near the top of Little Rock radio ratings. The heritage and history of KOKY was celebrated at a 2019 event organized by the Central Arkansas Library System’s John Miller, which included a panel discussion with many people who have been associated with the station.
The 1975 broadcast comes from a collection of tapes I’ve been digitizing that had belonged to longtime broadcaster Bob Gay. He worked at several Little Rock radio and TV stations, though not KOKY. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bob recorded this to monitor competing stations, though his writing “do not erase” on the label shows he knew it was worth saving. Bob Gay died last December at the age of 87. Thank you to his son Russell Gay for giving these tapes to me.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
Earlier this month, I was given several dozen cassettes that had belonged to veteran radio broadcaster Bob Gay, who died last December at the age of 87. Among the stations he worked for was KARN-AM 920 in Little Rock, where he was program and music director in 1977.
A cassette featuring an hour of Little Rock station KARN-AM 920 on Feb. 14, 1977.
Sorting through the random mix of recordings, I zeroed in on one tape labeled KARN, Feb. 14, 1977, 4- 5 p.m. That was just five years after Ted Snider bought the station, along with what became KKYK-FM 103.7 and the Arkansas Radio Network. He built his radio operation into the state’s best, including a large newsroom that provided newscasts and agriculture reports heard on about 60 stations statewide.
Having worked at KARN in the 1990s — when the AM station was still among the top-rated in the Little Rock market — I developed tremendous respect for Snider. He ran his stations and state network with a savvy business instinct, knew how to foster relationships within the industry, treated his employees with respect and knew the importance of the stations providing community service. Snider died earlier this year on Jan. 14 at the age of 96, but at his memorial service, it was a joy learning more about his life.
So, this tape of KARN from 1977 is quite an artifact. At that time, the station’s format was easy listening, branded as the “gentle sound,” and featured a heavy news presence, with local newscasts and NBC Radio News. I don’t know if it was intentional, but the groundwork was being laid for the all news and talk format KARN would eventually implement. There’s even a reference to the station being “the news authority,” which would later become a major part of its branding.
AUDIO: A jingle for “Little Rock’s gentle sound, KARN 920,” which was included in the Feb. 14, 1977 aircheck.
Larry Duke was KARN’s vice president and general manager at the time, before buying Jonesboro station KFIN-FM 107.9 from Snider the following year. In a 2013 email to me, Duke wrote, “It was while I was GM that KARN began a two-hour news and information block 6am-8am which led to the talk format after I moved to Jonesboro. I revere Ted Snider as the greatest man I have ever had the pleasure to know.”
Me (Michael Hibblen) with Randy Hankins, AKA Craig O’Neill, at an Arkansas PBS pledge drive on August 11, 2025. Before the photo was taken, we had just been talking about him starting his career in Jonesboro KBTM, where I would work about 25 years later. He then worked at KARN as production director, then doing sales under Larry Duke before leaving toward the end of the 1970s to DJ mornings at KLAZ-FM 98.5 in Little Rock. Photo: Marge Betley
Among the voices on this aircheck are two commercials by Craig O’Neill, who would leave KARN in 1978 to become the morning man at top 40 station KLAZ-FM 98.5, before returning to work for Snider in 1981 doing mornings at competing top 40 station KKYK. I talked with him about working for Larry Duke at an Arkansas PBS pledge drive on August 11, 2025. Not on the air, obviously, but in-between live segments. There was a time in the late ’70s when O’Neill was working only doing sales at KARN, with Duke being his supervisor, and always on his ass. He said it was during that time period that he decided to return to being on the air.
In the recording, KARN’s 4 p.m. newscast is anchored by News Director Don Corbet and includes an agriculture markets update by Bob Brice. I created a full index of every element that’s heard on this recording, which you can read here.
AUDIO: Little Rock station KARN-AM 920, Feb. 14, 1977, 4-5 p.m. The easy listening music has been edited to only feature the beginnings and endings of songs to avoid potential copyright violations.
The easy listening music is terrible, though I’m sure plenty of people loved it at the time and that it was carefully researched to target a specific demographic. KKYK, whose control room was next to KARN’s, appealed to a younger audience, so Ted Snider’s stations were reaching a broad swath of demographics.
The person on the air giving Oaklawn race results and weather forecasts never gives his name in this recording, but it was suggested in my post about this on Facebook that it might have been Chuck Stephens. I assume Program and Music Director Bob Gay was using this tape to evaluate his staff. Thanks to his son Russell Gay for sharing this and other tapes with me! I’m happy to have been able to digitize and share this with others interested in Arkansas broadcasting history.
Veteran reporter, editor and manager at newspapers, radio and television stations. I’m also a photographer, historian and author, having written the 2017 book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
This is the online home of Michael Hibblen, managing editor of Newsroom Ventures, which publishes six Arkansas newspapers. I've worked as a reporter, editor and manager for newspapers, radio and TV stations for more than three decades, with this website telling the story of my career. Also featured are outside interests I've researched. The views expressed here are my own and might not reflect those of my employers.
Released by Arcadia Publishing in 2017, Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas delves into the history of the railroad, which once had a huge footprint in Arkansas. The book features historic photos and tells the story of the Rock Island, which was shut down in March 1980. READ MORE ABOUT MY BOOK.
Preserving Rock Island Depot at Perry
Since 2017, I've been part of a group working to preserve the former Rock Island Depot at Perry, Arkansas. To keep it from being demolished, we raised money to move the depot to an adjacent lot, still alongside the tracks, which is now owned by the city. The building has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and our group has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. LEARN MORE.
For 13 years, from May 2009 to December 2022, I worked for NPR station KUAR-FM 89.1 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. That included 10 years as News Director while continuing to anchor and report. You can read and hear reports from that time on Little Rock Public Radio's website.
