Detz adds fifth station to Kaua'i radio list

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The biggest voice in Garden Isle radio is about to get bigger, adding a fifth station with the purchase of KUAI AM.

John Detz, president and owner of Visionary Related Entertainment, already owns one AM and three FM stations on Maui, and one AM and three FMs on Kaua'i.

There are only two AM stations on Kaua'i, and adding KUAI to his KQNG-AM gives Detz control of that side of the dial.

With at least 10 FM stations on Kaua'i, Detz remains a minority player on those frequencies.

Detz said he will purchase KUAI from American Islands Broadcasting, whose principal owners are station manager and newsman Bill Dahle and partner Jan Short.

KUAI, started in the 1960s by Dahle and the late John Short, was the second station on the island.

It is a station based in the West Kaua'i coastal community of 'Ele'ele, with an eclectic mix of news, sports and popular music with a heavy Hawaiian emphasis.

Detz said KUAI would continue with a "very strong" music format, while his firm's Lihu'e station, KQNG-AM, would emphasize news, talk and sports.

A quick run through Federal Communications Commission records and the FM dial on Kaua'i located at least 10 operating stations and several more inactive licenses.

Only one owner other than Detz controls more than one FM station: George Hoch-man, who has KTOH and KITH.

The offerings include two Christian stations, two heavily Hawaiian music stations, a couple of rock stations, two contemporary music stations and two stations that carry a blend of music and other programming.

One of the latter, a community-owned station broadcast on two frequencies as KKCR and KAQA, carries local and international news programming, community service features and a range of music.