By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr wrapped up his broadcasting career Friday morning, taking calls for two hours and getting surprised by a few guests.
Birr retires after 33 years as host of the Hotline, a talk show program he created in 1992. He also graced the KFEQ airwaves for 41 years, coming to KFEQ as news director in 1984.
Former KFEQ General Manager, Gene Millard, hired Birr as KFEQ News Director. Millard reminisced with Birr about the start of the Hotline in 1992 after KFEQ began broadcasting the Rush Limbaugh Show in the afternoon.
“That morning slot, between 8 and 10, was kind of open. We decided that maybe a good local talk show would fill that gap,” Millard recalled during his visit on the Hotline.
“And, look what happened,” Birr replied.
“Look what happened,” Millard echoed. “It was only temporary, for what, 30 some years.”
Birr pitched the idea for the KFEQ Hotline to Millard in 1992, reasoning that since KFEQ began broadcasting the Rush Limbaugh Show, a national program, it needed a local talk show.
With that, the KFEQ Hotline was born.
It proved its worth many times, but perhaps none better than two major natural disasters, such as the 1993 Missouri River flood and the 2007 ice storm that paralyzed St. Joseph. Birr expanded the Hotline in 1993, providing a vital communication link when floodwaters knocked out the St. Joseph Water Plant, leaving the community without drinkable water as it coped with massive flooding. During the 2007 ice storm, KFEQ became the only broadcast station still on the air, thanks to its massive generator. Residents without electricity could still tune in with battery operated radios to not only get the latest on the storm, but to share with the community what was going on in their neighborhoods.
Birr took well wishes from a stream of callers during the two hours of his final show. He received recognition off air from Missouri Western State University. He then welcomed another surprise guest: St. Joseph Mayor John Josendale.
“The City of St. Joseph would like to present a proclamation and that proclamation reads, the City of St. Joseph, Barry Birr Day,” Josendale declared over the air, reading the proclamation and handing a copy to Birr.
That wasn’t all.
“There is another thing that the mayor gets to do once in a while,” Josendale told Birr. “And, from the city council and the mayor of St. Joseph, it is my honor to present Barry Birr, for explementary service to the citizens of St. Joseph; presented by Mayor John Josendale and the city council, March 28th, 2025, a key to the city.”
Eagle Radio paid tribute to Birr during a private ceremony at the studios after his show ended.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.