Popular DJ laid off four years ago is now back on the radio at Wichita’s newest station

Denise Neil
·3 min read

Red dirt is out. Classic country from the ‘80s, ’90s and early 2000s is in.

And one of Wichita’s favorite longtime radio DJs — Carol Hughes, who was laid off from KFDI in 2020 after more than 20 years on the air — is back.

On Monday, Murfin Media will officially launch its new radio station, which it’s calling 100.5 The Twister. It even has a funnel cloud as its logo.

The FM station, part of Murfin Media’s five-station collection, previously was called My Country 100.5 and focused on artists who performed the red dirt style of country music made popular by artists who got their starts in Oklahoma and Texas. Station managers “flipped the switch” on Thursday at noon, said Murfin Media’s general manager John Pohlman, and now, the station is playing throwback hits by artists like Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and more.

On Monday, the station’s three new on-air disc jockeys will start their shifts, and Hughes will have the midday shift, which runs weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hughes also used to have the midday show at 101.3 KFDI-FM but was among several employees laid off in the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Longtime KFDI radio personality Carol Hughes has a new job.
Longtime KFDI radio personality Carol Hughes has a new job.

The Twister also has brought on another recognizable name and voice. Dan Holiday, who for years was on air at 102.1 KZSN-FM before leaving to start a radio meteorology company, is the station’s new program director. He’ll also serve as the “morning drive” host weekday mornings from 6 to 10 a.m.

Pohlman said that Holiday and Hughes used to compete for listeners when both were afternoon DJs on different stations but are happy to be working together now.

The station’s afternoon drive DJ, on air weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m., will be Becca Walls, who is based in Nashville and has lots of country music industry connections, Pohlman said.

“She’s really deeply connected with big hit artists in Nashville,” Pohlman said. “She’ll be up here off and on.”

It used to be a red dirt country station called 100.5 My Country. As of noon Thursday, it’s 100.5 The Twister and plays classic country hits from the 1980s through the early 2000s.
It used to be a red dirt country station called 100.5 My Country. As of noon Thursday, it’s 100.5 The Twister and plays classic country hits from the 1980s through the early 2000s.

Pohlman said that The Twister was Holiday’s brain child. He was tasked with developing a new format when the station realized it needed to make a change.

“We just weren’t seeing the traction and response on the red dirt music that we were hoping to see,” Pohlman said. ”..Some of the other stations in the market are focusing on new country, and they really had abandoned a lot of the big hit music from the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s. There’s a big gap in the market for that type of mega hit, big-star artist.”

Hughes said she plans to keep her other job, which is hosting paranormal podcasts for Real Story Media. Two of them have taken off, she said — Real Ghost Stories Online and The Grave Talks — which together have around 160 million downloads.

Those who want to hear The Twister can tune into 100.5 FM in the Wichita area or stream the station online at murfinmedia.com/stations/twisterwichita/

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