Tim Phillips Leads KLTZ/Mix 93

Glasgow native Tim Phillips, who has been at the local KLTZ/MIX-93 radio station for the past 31 years, bought the station last June after the former owner expressed interest in selling it. Over the past year he has been taking the opportunity to make the station his own.

Inspired both by his love of music and the 1970s TV sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati," Phillips joined the radio station staff in 1982, while he was still in high school. After graduating, he attended college and then worked at multiple larger stations while following his now wife as she took opportunities to further her nursing career. In 1992, Phillips returned to Glasgow and started working at the radio station again, after being laid off at one of the larger stations he was working for.

"Glasgow kept coming up and there were opportunities for both of us to come back at the same time," he explained for his reason to return. The fact that he and his wife both could come here and work wasn't the only factor in his decision for returning home, he also wanted to spend some time with his mother. When they made the decision to move back, he did not know at the time that Glasgow would become his permanent home.

When looking back on what pushed him to make the decision to stay here Phillips said, "I just sort of fell in." He went on to explain that at the larger stations there would always be turmoil with a couple of his co-workers, though that was not the case when he returned to the Glasgow station. He described the staff at the station as one big family, stating that he loves working with everyone there, something which was missing from his work life while he was away.

His co-workers weren't the only reason for him to stay in Glasgow and though it wasn't where he envisioned staying he stated, "It's a great place to raise a family." Phillips would go on to explain that he was extremely fortunate to have raised two boys here. Looking back now Phillips noted that Glasgow "felt like the right place to be."

Over the 31 years since his return, Phillips climbed all the way from humble disc jockey, to manager and now owner of the station. Through over three decades of service his passion for radio burns bright and vigorously stating, "It's fun creating the atmosphere in the morning, working with the music, making people laugh and entertaining them." He displays enjoyment in everything he does at the station, even the little things.

Outside of the managerial and owner-related duties, Phillips does a little bit of everything at the station. He is a hands on owner doing anything that he would expect from his employees. He is responsible for everything at the station and thus dips his finger into each aspect of making it run smoothly. He runs his own show and sets the programming template for each day ensuring the music plays seamlessly. He takes care of the engineering needs of the station, fixing wiring as it needs or tinkering with the transmitters when they give him trouble. He works with sales and advertising as well, ensuring they have the right advertisers to maintain their local station image.

His passion, though a major driving force in his decision to buy the station, was not the only factor. He went on to tell the story of the station's lineage. In 1957, Bill Holter founded the station and after his stint there it was passed down to his daughter, Jan, who decided to run the corporate side of the station while taking a hands off approach to the programming. Phillips when asked about his working relationship with the previous owners stated, "They've been phenomenal to work with, they kind of let us do our thing and we treat it as our own." Thus, a couple of years ago when she visited the station she discussed the idea of selling it with Phillips, he replied, "We enjoy working for you and are happy to go status quo, but if that is something you are willing to do we will pursue that as well."

Pursue it he did. In June of 2022 the sale of the station closed and Phillips became the sole proprietor of the business. Though there were some struggles with the changing of the guard, mainly government regulations and red tape, Phillips and crew pushed through and worked hard modernize the image of the station while respecting and continuing the legacy of the station. The legacy of the station in his eyes is to serve the Glasgow and Valley County communities first, which is his main goal in solidifying the station's image.

Despite its arguable stranglehold on the music industry for decades, radio in recent times has lost a large amount of influence within the music world. To many people, radio is a dying medium and when asked about the maintaining of the station's relevance in the current music consumption climate of XM radio and online streaming services like Spotify and Pandora he explained that the main goal is to use the unique mix of music they've been known for while catering specifically to the local audience.

Phillips outside of his role as the owner of the KLTZ/MIX-93 station, is a father of two and the current Glasgow High School Cross Country Coach.

To contact the radio station you can call: 406-228-9336 or visit their website at: http://www.kltz.com. You can also tune in on your radio to 1240 AM or 93.5 FM.