Air America radio to debut in Quad Cities

Having been listening to Air America radio on XM satellite radio since it's launch, I was very pleased to hear that a local AM station will be picking up the network. WKBF-AM 1270, formerly Classic Country 1270, will begin airing the network at 5 a.m. Monday morning.

How good can it get? One country station down and Al Franken and Randi Rhodes on the air instead? Woohoo!

Al Franken's show features former popular NPR host and Moline native Kathy Lampher.
I was stunned when listening to the show one night to hear her mention being in a musical at Moline High School, and have since caught her referring to the area and the fact that her parents still live here on a few occasions. Lamphere has had a very sucessful career, and is an equal co-host to Al Franken on Air America's flagship show, yet I've not once heard this reported anywhere. Even more bizarrely, the article in the Dispatch/Argus on the launch of the network locally doesn't even mention the fact that Lampher is from Moline, nor do any of the station execs quoted in the article. Pretty bad.

Her bio on the Air America site:

Katherine Lanpher
Tough, smart, with a razor wit and a ready laugh, Katherine Lanpher built Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning show into a statewide phenomenon. It was one of the few public radio shows in the nation to build on the audience of NPR's mainstay, Morning Edition in its market. Before her nearly six years on the air, Katherine’s work in print journalism was featured in publications ranging from the Saint Paul Pioneer-Press to the New York Times.

Air America celebrated it's one year anniversary yesterday, and they've proven that there IS a market for progressive radio. It's consistently pulled in high ratings and is beating the conservative radio yahoos in many markets.

Give it a listen. I particularly recommend Franken, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Randi Rhodes, 5-6 p.m., and Ed Shultz, 2-5 p.m. The schedule repeats overnight.