YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Former Missouri House of Representatives Speaker Elijah Haahr is hitting the airwaves.
Haahr will broadcast through The Elijah Haahr Show on KWTO, an FM and AM station owned by Columbia-based Zimmer Midwest Communications Inc., according to a news release. The show is scheduled to debut April 11 and air weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
"Growing up in the Ozarks, my day started with KWTO every morning. It's a dream come true to host a show on these airwaves and be a part of our listeners' drive home," he said in the release.
The Elijah Haahr Show will focus on politics, finances and entertainment with local information and interviews.
Haahr joins Tim Jones as the second former House speaker with a show on KWTO.
"Elijah brings a passion for radio and a connection with listeners," said Tom Ladd, operations manager for Zimmer-Springfield, in the release.
Haahr, who previously worked as an attorney, last year was named executive director of Kansas City-based Noble Health Corp.'s Noble Health Foundation. He told Springfield Business Journal at the time that he would continue to work out of the Queen City.
Haahr termed out of the House in 2020 after serving in Jefferson City since 2012. He became the first speaker of the House from Springfield.
Noble Health Corp. is out of business, and so, the foundation that Haahr ran presumably is likewise gone. Noble announced March 24 that its two hospitals in the central Missouri towns of Fulton and Mexico, would close the next day "...in order to restructure their operations and become financial viable." Perhaps the hospitals might have survived if Haahr, when he was Missouri House speaker, had worked to expand Medicaid in Missouri rather than work to undermine the effort.