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Live! With Jim Thompson. 2000th Show Celebration Meet Some of the People Behind The Scenes….
Establishing the company that would become Creative Broadcast Services (and the many programs it produces) was a joint venture between Kay and Jim. Both strongly believe in programming that provides a forum for people of many interests and the availability of that through various mediums. Her years of serving in the South Dakota Legislature and her involvement in economic development issues in the state, along with a family with deep, historical ties to the state, provide her with a unique perspective into what listening audiences want. She continues today with that focus in serving with the South Dakota Educational Telecommunications Board. While Kay’s many areas of public service have taken her away from a daily involvement in CBSI, she continues to represent the studio at various functions and joins the show on a regular basis.
This is the person who knows everything…and unfortunately she is leaving the studio. But we wanted to include her here because she has been such an important part of the day-to-day business and we know you’ll miss her as much as we will. Kathy has been Jim’s support person; managing schedules, studio communications, greeting callers to the show and assisting with the Heritage of the American West Show. She is deeply involved with her family, does some real estate business and now is moving on to working with a newly established mortgage company in Spearfish. Kathy is that rare kind of person who just comes to know ‘stuff’…before you even ask her for something, it’s there on the studio console. Not that anybody can take Kathy’s place but …. we know that Melissa Billingsley, originally from Gilette, Wyo., and now from Spearfish, will create her own niche in the studio and with listeners. We’ll tell you more about her later.
When Jim is away from the studio, he calls on Francie as his guest host for the Live! With Jim Thompson Show. A former newspaper publisher, advertising manager, editor and writer, her show content and delivery compliments the underlying concept of Jim’s daily talk radio program; to inform, entertain and provide a forum for listeners through which they can interact with the show. Her expertise is also called upon in developing specialty programs for the studio. Popular re-enactments of "The Hanging of Tom Horn", "Battle of the Little Big Horn", "War of the Worlds" and others have all been developed with Francie’s help as a writer and producer. Most recently she has added the Heritage of the American West….Music, Poetry & Song of the Great American Cowboy to her list of production credits. The award winning monthly, live stage performance that is also broadcast on radio and the web is heard around the country and features top rated performers in cowboy / western entertainment. Along with educational research and editing, her work encompasses concept and writing development in print, radio and video for political, tourism, entertainment, historical and agricultural interests and events.
Jim is a well known sports announcer, specifically in rodeo and baseball. So it would stand to reason that he would develop a sports program that is heard September-May, every Monday evening. Bryan brings his own credentials to the mic. He has been a television sports anchorman, producer, director and reporter in large demographic markets. He has covered major league baseball for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals and was the play-by-play broadcaster for the University of Northern Iowa athletics. Bryan has been on mic and camera covering such events as the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl, Summer Olympic Games, NBA and NCAA basketball playoffs and PGA golf tournaments. He is co-owner of the video production company, Western Sky Media located in Spearfish, SD. Characters & Personalities A fun day of radio with the Live!With Jim Thompson Show might include a call from ‘Cleaties’ or a rogue pirate on National Pirate Day. It may be a special historical re-enactment like The Anniversary of D Day or a War of the Worlds re-enactment on Halloween. Among the most popular programming are these recreations written by Jim and produced with the assistance of a lot of players – people who like to do radio just for the fun of it. Among programming used in college curriculums is the recreation of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Another popular series has been Captain Meriwether Lewis who has joined the show weekly since 2004, reporting from the trail of that historic expedition. And what would be a day of the Live!With Jim Thompson Show without a call or two from a cowboy poet? These story tellers join the show from Texas to Utah, from Colorado to Wyoming…. and all points in between! Some of the Characters: *Cowboy ‘characters’ are among our favorites who join the show regularly. See links to them at Heritage of the American West!
Troy is the pastor of Lighthouse Assembly of God in Upton, Wyo. and the former District Youth Director of the Wyoming Assemblies of God. Born in Minot, N.D. and raised in rural North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming towns, Troy has developed a very strange since of humor and a unique talent for vocal impersonation. Troy has been working with Jim for about three years now. It all started with a local lady sending in Troy's articles and Jim reading them on the air. It later developed into the birth of ‘Cleaties’ and a plethora of other characters. Troy has been honored to be on the panel of judges during Jim's Prairie Idol contest and featured in last year's Heritage of the American West's Christmas joy.
A well known Black Hills area musician, Barry began his association with the studio as a long-standing performer on the Heritage of the American West stage. His shows are among the most popular there and Jim relies on his musical talents that range from gospel to bluegrass to rock and roll. His input into sound reproduction has also been invaluable. Barry is an active organizer of entertainment for the historic Black Hills Roundup held annually in Belle Fourche, SD and does occasional voice work for the studio. As to his characters he has developed over the years for Jim’s shows, well, that remains a secret!
Many people know this long-time radio personality whose career in
radio covers decades of most every kind of broadcasting in the Black
Hills and Rapid City areas. When Verne is in the studio he comes as
himself, joining Jim’s program from time to time as co-host. Topics
are varied but the entertainment value is always top-notch when these
two veterans team up on the airwaves.
Tom calls himself "the oldest geezer" at Pioneer Bank & Trust, Spearfish, SD where he is Vice President and Trust Officer. To mark the Bicentennial Celebration of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, the self-taught historian transforms himself into Captain Meriwether Lewis, reporting live from the trail of the historic expedition. While developing this series, Jim went to the Spearfish Public Library and asked folks who checked out the most books on Lewis & Clark. And that’s how he found Tom Carr, who along with his library card, has 35 of his own volumes on the famous explorers. His reports continue yet today with the series that began in 2004. John Burke See On Line At: www.lawyers.com/thomasnooneylaw Listener participation spikes on Ask A Lawyer Day, when John Burke, a partner with Thomas, Nooney, Braun, Solay & Bernard, L.L.P. in Rapid City, SD., joins Jim on air to answer questions fielded by the listening audience. Matters of law vary and John handles each and every one of them with a formidable knowledge, common sense and an approachable style that listeners respond to. John grew up in Isabel, SD receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern State University in 1993. He went on to law school at the University of South Dakota and received his Juris Doctor degree in 1996, graduating as a member of the Thomas Sterling Honor Society. His practice focuses on civil litigation arising from personal injuries, wrongful death, defective products, insurance disputes, and business disputes.
See On Line At: http://www.rapidwx.com/ He’s the weather guy and since everybody has an interest in that, his weekly weather commentary on Jim’s show is a ‘don’t miss’ occurrence for listeners. Chris does a lightning round weekend weather outlook with Jim on Wednesday's shows. His regular day jobs include being the morning meteorologist on KNBN NewsCenter1 and running his business, Rapid Weather. Chris began his forecasting career in 1978 in Upper Michigan, moving on to Detroit, Green Bay and Minneapolis. He has had the privilege of forecasting for a variety of users including hot air balloon races, major motion pictures, power utilities, government agencies, construction companies and major airlines. He has also been heavily involved in agriculture, forecasting for commodities brokers and for individual farm operations and stockyards. The forecasting he is most proud of has been for the movies, the construction of the Mall of America, and many successful harvest seasons without a crop loss. His broadcast career has also spanned four decades and - at one point
- could be In 2000 he retired from one of the largest worldwide commercial weather services - where he supervised 35 meteorologists - to start a new career: training meteorologists how to forecast the weather through his business Rapid Weather. In addition to providing training, he is KNBN NewsCenter1's morning meteorologist, writes a weekly column for the Rapid City Journal, provides expert testimony for court cases and hawks Baxter Black books and CDs. Chris, his wife and two children live in Rapid City, SD
Our very own Doctor of Norwegian Philosophy and host of the popular afternoon show "Grant Peterson’s Afternoon Smorgasbord" featured on Depot Radio KJJQ 910AM in Brookings, SD, is a regular contributor to Jim’s shows. Grant takes ‘Norwegian humor’ to new levels, accent and all! He too is a long-time broadcaster and along with Jim, entertains listeners on a weekly basis. Grant, who is a fan and advocate of all things cowboy/western, is also responsible for securing Depot Radio’s interest in the Heritage of the American West program that now carries the show in its program lineup. His style matches Jim’s in many respects with his own popular programming for the mighty Depot Radio 910. Grant takes his listeners to all the great spots in the Great Dakota Territory, from the Deep Creek Angus Ranch to the Camp Crook General Store and even into cyperspace at www.Blackhills.com In a world filled with lots of tragedies, the Great Afternoon Smorgasbord is all about bringing a trainload of "easy goin’ stuff" and great guests to the airwaves. |
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Kay
Jorgensen, Co-Creator of CBSI Programming
Kathy
Kampfe, Administrative
Francie
Ganje, Guest Host
Bryan
Lessly, Producer/Host
Reverend
Troy Heidt
Barry
Pitt
Verne
Sheppard
Tom
Carr
Chris
Orr
Grant
Petersen
