10 Questions with ... Staci & Hutch

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

STACI: I started doing clerical work at one of the stations in my tiny hometown of Devils Lake, North Dakota when I turned 16. Eventually I learned to run the board for Twins games. I kept working through high school and college until I started my full time radio career in Grand Forks, ND doing mornings at XL93. Next was Fargo, St Cloud and finally Minneapolis-St. Paul.

HUTCH: I graduated from The Broadcast Center in St. Louis around 2006. I got my first job in Newton, IA as Morning Show Host at Energy 106.7. I then was able to work my way up through the Mankato and Sioux Falls markets. Then I was super lucky to take over for the AMAZING Moon. I have found the perfect career at KS95 with Staci!

1. Staci: How would you describe your first radio gig?

Baptism by fire. Hours were long, the competition was really fierce. We had to be on our game all of the time. We didn’t have the budget the other guys did so we had to find ways to win by being clever, creative and memorable. We could outsmart them because they were lazy. It was a great lesson in innovation. I loved every minute of it! 

2. Hutch: How would you describe your first radio gig?

A learning experience! Newton was a town of about 3,000. The radio station I first worked for was a powerhouse with a nice signal into Des Moines. The owners/management were incredible, I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my career.

3. Staci: What led you to a career in radio?

I had planned on being a news anchor. By the time I was close to graduating the harsh criticism women were getting for their looks made me second guess it. I wanted to be noticed for my work and I knew having focus on something else would be insulting and hard for me to hear. I was already working in radio so I decided to just stay. TV will always be there. Maybe I’ll do that next. (Who knew we would be on video as much as we are in radio now?!) Radio is more fun anyway.

4. Hutch: What led you to a career in radio?

I started in TV broadcasting at 16 in Orlando, FL. I knew I didn’t want to be in front of the camera, I also knew I wanted to laugh and have more fun than TV news. From there I went to St. Louis and The Broadcast Center

5. Staci: You’re closing in on 3 years with Hutch as your partner. What do you look forward to most when you get into the studio every day?

I know there’s going to be something off air that’s going to make me die laughing. I wish sometimes what happens off the air could be shared on the air. We are such weirdos.

6. Hutch: You’re closing in on 3 years with Staci as your partner. What do you look forward to most when you get into the studio every day?

Laughing. We have such great chemistry on and off the air that I am always going to leave work in a better mood then when I arrived. Staci has been at KS95 for 20 years. I love how adaptable she is. She understood that the sound of the “Moon and Staci” show was going to change, because I am not like Moon. She trusts the moves that I am making on the fly. I trust in her the same way.

7. Staci: The station and company have made a long term commitment to being one of the few music stations that has an afternoon duo. Is there a formula for music/talk or do you play it differently every day?

We have our regular benchmarks that we do daily and we have a layout of topics for the show but we may end up changing things on the fly. People assume we are a morning show in the afternoon but the vibe is really different. Mornings are focused on getting the family ready for the day and out the door to work. Our show ends your day, the music is a little hotter, we talk after every song but we keep our breaks short and to the point. We pay attention to people’s reaction to us. Since the pandemic people are impatient, demanding, and habits are quite different.

8. Hutch: The station and company have made a long term commitment to being one of the few music stations that has an afternoon duo. Is there a formula for music/talk or do you play it differently every day?

There is definitely a formula that works for this market. Our brand manager took the time to enhance the sound of show. Whether it is with music, imaging, or the format of the show he has been super instrumental in the newer sound of our show. Staci and I also are in touch with what happens in the other dayparts. Afternoons, here at KS95, has been more challenging than when I used to do mornings. Our talk breaks are not as long, we don’t stay on a topic longer than 1 or 2 breaks. And the flow of this shift is a lot faster paced.

9. Staci: Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?

I never really had mentors. There were so few women on the air when I started and we were competing for the same jobs. It’s different now, thankfully. I learn so much from my KS95 co-workers - past and present. It’s nice to get a fresh perspective from the newbies and the wisdom from the seasoned pros too. There’s never been a group of people that I’ve loved as much as the people here. Our air staff is tight with each other.

10. Hutch: Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?

I have two, the first one was my PD in Sioux Falls. Andy Erickson was the first PD I ran into that understood personality. When you can realize that personality is what people come to listen for then you can be a better teacher/mentor to your staff. But now we have Mat Mitchell, my current brand manager. The guy knows personality based radio. When you sit down with Mat, he has a ton of knowledge about the business and personality driven radio.

Staci: What’s something that you’ve seen Hutch do for the community that flew under the radar that everyone should know about?

Hutch has so much integrity! He was fired from a radio job (for no good reason, I might add) and the station had the nerve to call him and beg him to come back because they had nobody to do a multi-day broadcast for charity. He really should have told them to “buzz off” but because Hutch is a good person and cares about the charity (St. Jude’s Children) he did indeed do the broadcast. When the charity broadcast event was over the station said they wanted to hire him back again. Hutch said, “No, thanks.” BRAVO! 

Hutch: What’s something that you’ve seen Staci do for the community that flew under the radar that everyone should know about?

Staci takes the time to reach out to listeners that text or call in. She makes sure to know that she is thinking about them and their situation. Staci, a breast cancer survivor, knows what it means to have people in your corner. She is ALWAYS making sure others are okay more than herself.