“. . . and the ship’s wise men
will remind you once again,
that the whole wide world is watching!

Oh the foes will rise,
with the sleep still in their eyes,
and they’ll jerk from their beds
and think they’re dreamin’,

But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal,
and know that it’s for real,
the hour when the ship comes in

And they’ll raise their hands
saying we’ll meet all your demands,
But we’ll shout from the bow,
‘your days are numbered’!

And like pharaoh’s tribe
they’ll be drownded in the tide,
and like Goliath,
they’ll be conquered!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c9_XkYYjTU

At the Mainmark Building on 1627 Main Street in Kansas City.

There were two low-powered stations at 10 Watts each which occupied the space on the non-commercial end of the FM broadcast band. Only a small portion of the broadcast frequencies on the radio dial can be used by non-commercial, non-profit stations and these two stations took up that space.

The stations were licensed to what was then Park College – KGSP FM, and to the Nazarene Theological seminary – KTSR FM.

As the situation looked hopeless, the membership of Mid-Coast dropped down from the original 30 or so which had showed up for the Communiversity class “Radio Free Kansas City” to 2 or 3 people who stuck with the goal of a community radio station.

Then, in 1978, things changed. The FCC in its infinite wisdom, decided that since there was a limit to the number of stations that could be put on the FM dial, that they had better make sure that all these stations were serving the most people.

10 Watt stations only could cover an area equivalent to a large neighborhood, and they were taking up a spot on the dial.

So in 1978, the FCC made a new rule that these 10 Watt stations either had to boost their power to 100 Watts, or move to another spot on the dial.

Maybe, just maybe, the small, broke organization, Mid-Coast Radio, could take advantage of the new ruling by negotiating with the two 10 Watt Kansas City stations!

Stay tuned . . . more to follow.

An evening of story telling about Gil with his friends occurred at 3707 Pennsylvania after 7:00 PM around a campfire that evening.

THANKS TO VOLUNTEERS & PARTICIPATING PROGRAMMERS & SPONSORS

After 11 years of work, Mid-Coast Radio finally put KKFI on the air!

A great party was held at the site of the new studios at the Mainmark Building. The first connection to the transmitter and radio tower was done over phone lines since no “studio-tower-link” had been set up yet.

The first radio programs were recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder produced in temporary basement studios. The tapes were then taken out to the tower location and played back on an identical tape recorder to the transmitter which broadcast the shows.

This was the first program schedule – at first the station only went on the air from 10 in the morning and signed off (to the song “Route 66”) at 10 PM. A year later, KKFI would expand to a full 24-hour schedule.

First on-air program guide put together by Kevin Dowd, Matt Quinn, and a whole crew of KKFI volunteers!

1988 Program Guide September/November.

1988 Program Guide December.

In 2018 a wonderful celebration took place at historic Folly Theater, downtown Kansas City.

KKFI Collaborations event in 2017 was an extravaganza by artists and volunteers featuring a night of innovative original music, film, and dance

Jeannie Jaspers celebrated KKFI’s 25th anniversary & the Coffee House Radio Show, 2013. She is missed.

In 2011, the original KKFI transmitter was failing. Money had to be raised to pay for a new one. One of the special events used to raise money was a program with author Jim Hightower, “America’s number one populist” whose show “Hightower Radio” airs on KKFI.

The fifth anniversary was at Drexel Hall in at 31st and Main in Kansas City. There is a VHS video which has yet to be converted for the Internet.

The First anniversary of the station in 1989 had a whole day of events featuring diverse artists from all over Kansas City artists!

. . . and an awesome poster!

First day on the air – February 28, 1988. The video, the program!