April 1, 2026 News@CountryAircheck.com

Back In Bat City: Market vets JB Hager and Sandy McIlree, and the latter's wife and syndication partner, Tricia McIlree, have been hired for mornings at iHeartMedia's KVET/Austin as The JB and Sandy Morning Show. They succeed Nashville-based "Wayne D" Danielson and Tay Hamilton, who had been paired locally in mornings with Bama Brown since 2022 (CAT 5/31/22). Hager and McIlree co-hosted mornings at crosstown Hot AC KAMX from 1996 to 2013 and have been engaged in related ventures since. No word on the status of Brown, who had been in mornings on KVET since 2013 (CAT 2/4/13) following 14 years at sister KASE. See local coverage here.

Fly Guy: Bicoastal KFLY/Eugene, OR PD/afternoon host & News-Talk sister KPNW morning host Gerry "G-Man" Snyder will be departing April 24 for a new job outside the radio industry. He joined Bicoastal as an intern in 2018, and has also done middays at KFLY and mornings at Top 40 sister KDUK. "I am so thankful for my time in radio in my hometown, the people I met, and the money we raised for St. Jude and other local nonprofits," he says. MM Sean Beken is leading the search for his successor; reach Beken here.

Gravel & Dold: WBFF-TV/Baltimore reporter/anchor Candace Dold has been named co-host of iHeartMedia WPOC's newly rebranded Michael J & Candace In The Morning. She succeeds Bethany Linderman, who signed off Dec. 23 (CAT 12/12/25). “Candace came in as a guest fill-in while we conducted our search and it was such a natural fit for her and the show that we realized we already had the perfect duo to help wake up Baltimore every morning," says Region SVPP Jeff Kapugi. Dold was seen on Baltimore's Fox affiliate from 2005 to 2019, and she was also the host of B’More Lifestyle.

Audacy Cuts: Among those affected by this week's round of downsizing at Audacy are KMNB/Minneapolis morning co-host Greg Thunder and KFRG/Riverside, CA PM drive traffic reporter and weekend air talent Vicki "Pepper" McDonel. Thunder joined KMNB from crosstown Hot AC KTCZ in 2018 (CAT 12/3/18). Paul "PT" Thomas is now hosting mornings solo. McDonel, a 13-year KFRG veteran, also handled the station's public affairs program until last month. Reach her here.

Marvel Universe: Nashville Harbor's The Band Perry has signed with Borchetta Entertainment Group’s management division, with Shelby Marvel, formerly of Make Wake Artists, also joining the BEG team. Along with TBP, Marvel brings artists Trey Pendley and Kendell Marvel. Prior to Make Wake, Marvel spent time at ShopKeeper Management, Red Light and True Grit. “Partnering with Scott Borchetta and Borchetta Entertainment Group comes down to shared values — believing in artists, doing the work and building something that lasts,” says Marvel. Reach her here.

Allen Jacks In: Former Audacy WDAF/Kansas City APD/MD/morning co-host Codie Allen joined crosstown Steel City KBEQ as morning host today (4/1). She succeeds Kyle Matthews, who departed last fall (CAT 10/15/25), and co-host Mallory Kay, who has been hosting solo while also covering nights on Top 40 KMXV. Kay moves to middays at KBEQ, replacing Marissa Leggio, who segues to nights on both KBEQ and KMXV. KBEQ nights had been tracked by Hot AC sister WLTJ/Pittsburgh midday host "Erika Jay" Hink. Allen departed WDAF last summer (CAT 8/14/25) after what had been her second stint in mornings there (CAT 4/4/12).

Tales From The Script: Twenty-year acting vet Katie Killourhy has been hired as morning co-host at Townsquare WOKQ/Portsmouth, NH, joining Brand Mgr./morning host Garret Doll. In addition to acting, Killourhy is VP at Boston's Lois Weber Film Festival; this is her first radio gig. The show is now branded as Garret & Katie in the Morning. Read Killourhy's introduction to listeners here. Doll joined the station in January (CAT 1/28).

Diary Of An Eastlan: Here are select February Eastlan Ratings showing Country stations that are leading in the 21 markets measured monthly by the company, compared with December and January. Shares are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

WOKO/Burlington, VT Hall: 17.7 - 16.6 - 15.7
WQBE/Charleston, WV Bristol: 12.8 - 13.0 - 12.9
WXBQ/Johnson City, TN Bristol: 15.5 - 14.9 - 15.1
KDBR/Kalispell, MT Bee: 14.2 - 12.2 - 14.0
WALS/LaSalle, IN Shaw Local: 10.5 - 10.0 - 12.0
WGTR/Myrtle Beach, SC iHeartMedia: 8.7 - 8.9 - 8.9
KXLY/Spokane Queen B: 8.5 - 8.6 - 8.4
KEZJ/Twin Falls, ID Townsquare: 14.8 - 16.9 - 14.5
WACO/Waco, TX iHeartMedia: 14.4 - 13.7 - 14.9

Skyview's The Limit: Skyview Networks has completed an ownership transition, with Pres./CEO Steve Jones assuming full leadership of the company, effective immediately. Jones says the move reinforces the company’s "long-term direction" while maintaining focus on "client outcomes, operational excellence and teamwork." Also in the internal memo, Founder Ken Thiele praised employees and expressed confidence in Jones’ leadership, and Jones thanked shareholders Diana Chamberlain and Dave Dickson, who will continue in advisory roles. Jones has been with Skyview since 2019 and rose to Pres./CEO in 2022 (CAT 1/20/22).

In Pod We Trust: Former KWJJ/Portland, OR morning hosts Nick Steele and Kristen Flowers (CAT 3/5) have launched Nick & Kristen In The Podcast. The daily, 15-minute show, available on Spotify and YouTube, finds the married couple sharing details about their family and newly unemployed life, with Flowers telling Country Aircheck it's a way to keep their skills fresh while also serving as "an audio résumé." The podcast includes benchmark features from their radio show, including "Nick's Song Of The Week" and "Hold My Beer."

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

First-timers take on CRS with fresh eyes in Country Aircheck Weekly.
KILT/Houston morning hosts Tucker "Frito" Young and Katy Dempsey departed. (3/31)
Audacy's Debbie Kenyon was promoted to Regional Pres. for the company's Central U.S. markets. (3/30)
Adam Star was named Beasley/Augusta, GA PD. (3/30)

Bits & Pieces: Zach Top, Ashley McBryde, George Birge, Lauren Alaina, Chase Matthew, John Morgan, Kenny Whitmire and Trey Pendley will perform during KWNR's ACM Awards Week Guitar Pull May 16 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; tickets here Friday (4/3).

Audacy WUSN/Chicago morning hosts Austin Huff and Melissa McGurren temporarily rebranded the station as 99.5 The El, playing only Ella Langley music all morning for an April Fools' Day joke; listen here.

A public celebration marking New Wavo KVST/Conroe, TX host, Guiness World Record Holder and National Radio Hall of Famer Mary McCoy's 75th anniversary in radio will be held April 18 at the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County in Conroe, TX. Details here.

ICYMI: The Bobby Bones Show's “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell appeared as a contestant on The Price is Right. He bid correctly on his fourth try to claim a trip to Carter Estate Winery and Resort, then played the One Wrong Price game, taking home all three prizes, and secured a spot in the final Showcase Showdown.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for March 31, according to Mediabase.

JUSTIN MOORE/Time's Ticking (Blue Highway) 4444 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) 4008 points
THOMAS RHETT f/JORDAN DAVIS/Ain't A Bad Life (Blue Highway/MCA) 3750 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Choosin' Texas (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 3673 points
DYLAN SCOTT/What He'll Never Have (Curb) 3665 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for March 29-31, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase.

JUSTIN MOORE/Time's Ticking (Blue Highway) +2436 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) +1816 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Be Her (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) +1759 points
LUKE BRYAN/Country And She Knows It (MCA) +1307 points
BRANTLEY GILBERT/Good Damn (Wheelhouse) +911 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (4/2): Zach Bryan, Emmylou Harris, Chris Janson, Simon Dumas (King Calaway), Buddy Jewell, Dean Townson, Kelli Haywood, Colton Bradford, Garret Doll, the late Leon Wilkeson (Lynyrd Skynyrd), the late Leon Russell.

Hot Girl Shift: Big Loud's Ashley Cooke throws an iHeartCountry House Party. Pictured (l-r) are the label's Kelley Bradshaw, Cooke, the show's Tay Hamilton and the label's Lauren "LT" Thomas and Emily Crews.

Meowdy: WYCT/Pensacola's Spring Jam raises money for the Santa Rosa Kids House. Pictured (back, l-r) are the station's Kevin King, Brent Lane and Heidi Huerta, Blue Highway's Preston Cooper, the station's Chris Clare, LoCash's Preston Brust, the station's Taska King, LoCash's Chris Lucas, the station's Brian Prawitz, Broken Bow's John Morgan, The Cat and the station's Jordan Glass, Howard Seaton and Jeff Wayne; (front, l-r) the station's Morgan Sasser, Nadia Palag, Abigail Timmons and Ashley Denny.

Big Add Wolf: RCA's Corey Kent (c) with WWWF/Nassau-Suffolk's Andrew Blitz, Kelly Ford and Robby Bridges and the label's Dan Nelson (l-r).