First National Bank Alliance branch president John McGhehey visited our Eagle Radio studios in Alliance today to announce the winners of “Teachers Rule”, a contest held by FNB and Eagle Radio. Nominations from all over the panhandle came in to honor outstanding teachers, and two such teachers were randomly selected to receive a gift card for use in purchasing classroom supplies.
Here is a portion of John’s appearance on AM 1400 / FM92.5 KCOW to announce the winners.
LF: 2 265 70 R17 TIRES/760-4455
LOST: HUBCAP–CHRYSLER, FITS ON PICKUP…COULD BE ON WAY TO HEMINGFORD/2122
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1968 was a turbulent, dramatic year in American history. It also happens to be the year that legendary radio newsman Paul Harvey visited Alliance, Nebraska.
Upon returning from his Alliance visit, Mr. Harvey offered his thoughts:
Today’s audio feature comes from a series of anniversary vignettes produced in 2014. Former KCOW News Director Kevin Horn introduces a segment on the history of the Alliance Public Library voiced by Brandon Bell, former KCOW announcer now residing in Los Angeles.
By JASON WENTWORTH
Panhandle Post
Beginning June 1st, Alliance Municipal Airport welcomes a new essential air carrier: Denver Air Connection. But before regularly scheduled flights begin on the 1st, a variety of guests were welcomed on a special preview flight from Alliance to Denver and back.
Along for the trip were Alliance Mayor Mike Dafney; Alliance City Manager Jeff Sprock; Alliance Municipal Airport Manager Lynn Placek; travel agent Laurie Jelinek; and representatives from panhandle media outlets including Panhandle Post. Escorting the guests, and answering questions along the way, was Denver Air Connection Business Development Director Wade Goetz.
The morning began with an informal chat in the airport conference room, where Placek noted that the Denver Air Connection team was working together with the airport to get the new schedule up and running. Placek also indicated that the new carrier was planning to add additional flights to the regular schedule during peak travel times, such as the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday weeks.
After flying to Denver, the group enjoyed lunch at Denver International Airport, and met a variety of Denver Air Connection staff. Then, a quick flight back to Alliance. The flight itself was a bit noisy; however, Goetz noted that by the June 1st launch planes are expected to be equipped with a newly designed propeller that will substantially reduce in-cabin noise. The cabin itself is noticeably roomy, with lots of leg room for all passengers.
On June 1st, the official launch of Denver Air Connection in Alliance will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting and special ticket giveaways by the airline. Outgoing carrier Boutique Air will continue to serve Alliance passengers through May 31st.
Below: A photo gallery of the inaugural Alliance-to-Denver flight.
1999 wasn’t just KCOW’s 50th anniversary year. It was also the occasion of then-General Manager Mike Garwood’s 50th birthday. Thiele Pharmacy and Gifts saluted this double-birthday in a commercial that aired in the summer of ’99. And at the station’s 50th birthday dance at Heartland Aviation, the station presented a unique gift to Mike:
The blanket features iconic Alliance landmarks like the Newberry Building, Knight Museum, Central Park Fountain and (of course!) Carhenge. It was the perfect gift for a man who, through KCOW and city government roles, gave decades of his life to making his hometown a better place.
This picture dates from 2013, when KCOW received a $250,000 building re-design and studio upgrade. For decades, KCOW’s studios were all in the front of our building on West 10th St. Eagle Communications engineers and then-General Manager Terri Friesen decided to build new studios in the back of the building, then relocate office space to the front. For nearly a year our offices looked like Grand Central Station…after an explosion. Boxes of cables littered the lobby, paint cans waited patiently for old studios to be cleared out, engineers strung cables in the basement to connect computers to the new studios. Progress is messy! But the day did come when the old studios were turned off and the new ones turned on.
When we welcomed visitors to tour our shiny new digs in the summer of 2013, we decided to show them the “before” as well as the “after.”
This control board served the KCOW control room for about 30 years. Boards like it were in the other three studios. They were all retired, and sent to a lovely control board ranch where they could live out their days frolicking in the sun. (But seriously, they were either put in the basement or sent to the dump.)
Geeky radio fact: the round dials are called “potentiometers”, or “pots” for short.
Below is a list of closings, cancellations and postponements related to the upcoming winter weather event. A full list of closings can be found on the Panhandle Post AREA CLOSINGS tab under the COMMUNITY tab.
CLOSINGS MARCH 14
-Crossroads Music-CLOSED today, March 14
-Box Butte Federal Credit Union closed Thursday March 14.
-Chadron Public Schools, Trunk Butte Christian School, and Mornin Sunshine Coffee House will be closed on March 13 and March 14 as well.
-The City of Crawford Public Transportation service will not be running on Wednesday and Thursday. If road conditions have improved and travel is not hazardous, the bus will resume operations on Friday.
-United Methodist Church meetings and activities for 3/13 & 3/14 cancelled. Church office closed Wed & Thurs.
-Immanuel Lutheran School, Alliance Public Schools, St. Agnes Academy and Hemingford Public Schools CLOSED 3/13. Lutheran and HPS also closed Thurs 3/14.
-Crawford Livestock 3/15 sale cancelled
-No Box Butte County Public Transit 3/13 thru 3/15
-City of Alliance trash services delayed until next week
-Following City of Alliance services closed thru Fri 3/15:
Alliance Public Library
Knight Museum & Sandhills Center
Alliance Senior Center
SkyView Golf Course
Alliance Landfill
-Alliance Housing Authority closed 3/13. Open Thursday, 3/14 & Friday, 3/15 weather permitting.
-The Village of Hemingford Office and the Hemingford Public Library will be closed March 13 and March 14.
-First National Bank-closing at noon March 13, weather permitting open at 10am Thursday, March 14
-Parker Hannifin-closing at 11am today, March 13; opening at 7am Friday, March 15
-NE Dept. of Labor Career Center-closed today; open tomorrow weather permitting
-Nebraska Total Office CLOSED today
-Wells Fargo closed today
-Box Butte County Assessor Office closed today. The courthouse is not officially closed. Tomorrow will be determined by the Chairman of the County Commissioners by 6 am.
-Grocery Kart-Closing at 4pm today, 3/13. Open tomorrow at 9am. NO Deliveries tomorrow, 3/14.
-Box Butte County Court at Courthouse is closed today. The courthouse is not officially closed. Tomorrow will be determined by the Chairman of the County Commissioners by 6 am.
-Box Butte County Treasurer Office is closed today. The courthouse is not officially closed. Tomorrow will be determined by the Chairman of the County Commissioners by 6 am.
-Farmer’s State Bank-Alliance/Chadron/Bridgeport locations all CLOSED today.
Doug Abbott was KCOW’s afternoon announcer for many years, until his passing in 2004. Before working with KCOW, Doug was a well-remembered air personality at Q98 in Chadron–a station that, when purchased by Eagle Communications, became half of the newly formed “Double Q Country” in 1991.
For those of us who worked with Doug during his KCOW years, every day was a chance to hear another one of his stories from those wild rock and roll radio days. Although Doug’s role kept him in the control room, we occasionally managed to sneak him into a production studio to lend his golden tones to a commercial or other special project. The last item in this audio file was recorded for a sendoff CD for graduating senior and KCOW part-time announcer David Kuskie.
We will have more audio and memories of Doug Abbott online and on our 70th anniversary special Friday March 15th at 1:00pm on KCOW.
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LF: CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATE ON CARPORT 13′ WIDE BY 40′ LONG/760-8018
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LF: KAYAK/760-5517
