KRXT MOVES
Radio station KRXT 98.5 FM is picking up stakes in Rockdale and will soon begin broadcasting from its new studio in downtown Taylor.
Cowboy Broadcasting Network LLC, owned by Steve Laukhuf and Jim Schwertner, bought the station last month and is awaiting final Federal Communications Commission approval to make the move to Taylor from Rockdale.
They expect to begin broadcasting from Suite 203, 112 W. Second St. on Oct. 23. The station will be located inside the McCrory Timmerman Building, in a suite once occupied by the Taylor Economic Development Corp.
The EDC is providing the station with a $65,000 economic- development grant to facilitate the move, with the understanding KRXT will create 10 new jobs in Taylor.
In a news release, the EDC noted the station joins the ranks of other local media, including the Taylor Press.
“The addition of KRXT to Taylor is exciting. Being able to broadcast local news and highlight Taylor to the entire Austin (metroplex) through 98.5 FM, shows that Taylor is truly becoming the major hub for business in Central Texas,” said Betty Day, EDC chairwoman.
According to a prepared release from the EDC, “Local favorites broadcasters Jay Davis, Bob Cole, Eric Raines, Jimmy Carter, Michael Craig and Deena Blake will be transmitting their shows from historic downtown Taylor.
… The Taylor Economic Development Corp. was able to terminate their lease at this same location for Cowboy Broadcasting Network to move to Taylor.”
Laukhuf said the area is primed for expansion.
“We’re in the middle of the biggest growth corridor in Central Texas,” Laukhuf said. “The moment I went to (Ben White, EDC president) and said this is a vision I have, he didn’t say no, he said, ‘How? How can we put this deal together to help you?’ You don’t get that all the time, especially in media.”
KRXT’s 6,000-watt tower will remain in Rockdale, and the station will still be licensed in that city. The new co-owners said the station’s dedication to covering Milam, Lee and Williamson counties remains its biggest commitment.
“Nothing changes from what we’re doing now,” Laukhuf said. “We’re just going to move those studios over to a prime location where we’ll be more visible.”
Under Laukhuf and Schwertner, the station has embraced technology that makes it easier for listeners to tune in.
“This is how I listen on my tractor,” Laukhuf said, pointing at his phone as it played the station clearly over the KRXT app. When the move to Taylor was announced, social media lit up with comments hoping the change would make the station easier to listen to for people working in rural areas.
Laukhuf said the issue with signal interference from a south Austin transmitter is one that will have to be addressed with the FCC. Meanwhile, the business partners added the phone app for mobile listening and the ability to livestream the station directly from its website, CBNTexas.com.
The station can also be played on any Alexaconnected smart device by saying “Alexa enable KRXT skill,” and thereafter simply, “Alexa play KRXT.”
“It’s country music that you can really listen to in the country,” Laukhuf said. “We’re targeting country people.”
With early morning programs from the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network and local cattle market news, the station will continue to serve its agricultural listeners, the owners said. But they also recognize there’s more to the community than farming and ranching. In Texas, there’s always football.
In addition to covering local high school games, the station will begin expanding its coverage of athletics to include a broader range of competitors, increasing its reporting on women’s sports and even covering marching bands.
One thing Laukhuf said won’t change is the station’s emphasis on providing local and live programming.
“I don’t believe in somebody out of Quebec, Canada, programming your radio station’s music. It needs to have a local flair,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to communicate the small things. You’ve got to have an outlet for people to talk about their high school reunions and other things that matter to the community.”
That local flair includes being the community’s resource for severe weather updates.
Austin-area meteorologist Troy Kimmel provides the forecasts for KRXT, and station personnel said in the event of a severe weather event, Kimmel is set to take over the station with continual broadcasts during the episode.
“I believe that radio is a vital instrument in the heartbeat of a community. Everything we’re doing is designed to cover a lot of territory that you’re never going to get with media in a metro as large as Austin. They’ve got their own set of problems,” Laukhuf said. “KRXT has been on the air for a long time. The R will always stand for Rockdale. And the T will always stand for Taylor.”
