Larry Steckline is a prominent Kansas broadcasting entrepreneur, and radio and television personality, particularly known for his Kansas agriculture news/feature/commentary programs. His company, Steckline Communications—formerly known as the Mid-Kansas Ag Network—provides various media services, including agricultural news syndicated to radio and television stations throughout Kansas. Steckline has also owned and operated 27 Kansas and Oklahoma radio stations.
Since 1964, Steckline has produced agricultural news, information and commentary programs aired on television and radio stations throughout Kansas and into adjoining Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma, particularly on KTVH-TV (Wichita, Kansas/Hutchinson, Kansas, and later the Kansas State Network (KSN), the state's main provider of television broadcast to rural communities, as well as three of Kansas' five largest cities (Wichita, Topeka, and Salina). He returned to KWCH-TV (KTVH-TV's successor), and continued broadcasts of his Ag News Network. Most recently, his program has appeared on Wichita's KAKE-TV.
Early life
Larry E. Steckline was born on August 24, 1941, in Hays, Kansas, and raised in Ellis, Kansas, until nine years old. His parents were Carl Steckline, who was raised at Hyacinth, Kansas, and Irene Schoendaller Steckline, of Liebenthal, Kansas. Both were of Volga-German ancestry.
The family then moved to a 200-acre leased farm near Ogallah, Kansas, which, though it had electricity, had no running water. Steckline attended high school in WaKeeney, Kansas, and graduated in 1959. Though Steckline's father wanted him to remain on the farm, his mother wanted him to go to college. He attended Wichita Business College, in the state's distant largest city, Wichita, and studied to become a bookkeeper.
While attending school, Steckline was a bookkeeper for Wichita's livestock yards—a job that continued for 15 years, until he was hired as public relations director for Wichita's entire livestock market industry—one of the nation's largest.
Broadcast career
Steckline's agri-business programs, eventually aired over his Mid-America Ag Network, would ultimately reach 40 affiliate radio stations, and be carried on Kansas's largest television stations — his programs reaching into four states. By invitation, he interviewed three U.S. Presidents on agriculture issues at the White House.
Over the course of his career, Steckline, or his companies, owned 27 radio stations, mostly in Kansas. To promote his stations, Steckline hosted country music concerts by Roy Clark, Tanya Tucker, Charlie Pride, Reba McEntire, T.G. Shepherd, Ronnie Milsap, The Oakridge Boys, the Bellamy Brothers, and others.
1960s-1990s
In the mid-1960s, a few months after ascending to the public relations executive job, Steckline began broadcasting the uncompensated agriculture ("ag") report on Wichita's television channel 12 KTVH-TV, suddenly filling in for a reporter who had quit, soon becoming the station's "farm director." Steckline continued the airing the report over the next 45 years.
Starting in 1968, Steckline worked with KFRM (AM) (Clay Center, Kansas) for several years, broadcasting agricultural news.
In 1974, Steckline built KJLS (FM) in Hays, Kansas, a country-western station that, according to Steckline, was the first FM radio station to survive west of U.S. Highway 81 (the north–south highway bisecting the nation). It would be the first of many radio stations he would acquire, several with call letters that included his initials: "LS".
By 1977, Steckline—still broadcasting—was also operating his own farm. In 1977, following an abrupt dismissal from KFRM, he created the "Mid America Ag Network" (Wichita, Kansas), syndicating his ag shows state-wide, and beyond.
By 1988, Steckline owned six radio stations in Kansas, and one in Oklahoma, jointly labeled as the "LS Network"—including KSLS (FM) and KYUU (AM), both in Liberal, Kansas; KXXX (AM) and KQLS (FM) in Colby, Kansas; and KXLS (FM) in Enid, Oklahoma. The network's flagship station, at the time, was KGLS (FM), near the center of the state in Hutchinson and Pratt—a "modern" country music station, whose 1,000-foot tower was estimated to boost the station's reach to 75 miles—the strongest signal of any commercial radio station in centrally located Hutchinson, Kansas. (Steckline estimated it had 125,000 potential listeners—not counting Sedgwick County, Kansas, also in range, home to the state's largest city, Wichita—population 300,000 at the time.)