In July 2023, Bill Wolfenbarger’s Ellensburg Radio Broadcasting purchased KXLE-AM and FM. During the last three days of the year, the staff of both Washington state signals tendered their resignations, following the lead of longtime General Manager Brad Tacher.
Tacher, who had been with KXLE-AM for nearly three decades, announced his departure on December 29, telling the Ellensburg Daily Record, “It was time for me to go. It was an awesome run, but there are big changes in the industry locally and nationally, and I’m not ready to tackle them in this stage of life.”
Tacher’s notice was followed by the resignation of his wife and office manager, Patti Tacher, and three part-time staff members, including Tacher’s son.
In response to these resignations, Wolfenbarger and his team took the opportunity to reevaluate the programming of both KXLE-AM and FM. Wolfenbarger said the decision to flip KXLE-AM to classic country was influenced by the difficulties of selling local advertising on syndicated talk shows. As of now, there are no immediate plans to introduce a local talk radio show on KXLE-AM.
Wolfenbarger added, “While knowing that many of those who listen to national talk shows would be upset with change no matter what we did, it was determined that in the long run, KXLE-AM would garner more overall listeners and be of most value to local businesses and the community if we were to launch a similar music format to the KXLE-FM, but for older demographics. If we can help local businesses grow, we’ll grow, too.”
[Editor’s note: our initial report stated around ten employees left the station, the actual number, confirmed with station management, is two full-time and three part-time. Radio Ink regrets the error.]
