KPRS Radio Station Studios (1952-1992)

Now broadcasting out of the Andrew "Skip" Carter Building in South Kansas City, MO, the radio station currently known as HOT 103 JAMZ! began life as KPRS in a studio at this location at 23rd and Benton. Founded in 1952 by Andrew "Skip" Carter with the support of former Kansas governor Alf Landon, KPRS was the first Black-run radio station west of the Mississippi. Carter was the second African American to secure a license from the FCC. Originally broadcasting on 1590 AM, the station expanded in 1963 to simultaneously broadcast on 103.3 FM, where it remains to this day. The AM section of the station now broadcasts as KPRT-AM. After Andrew Carter and his wife Mildred moved to Florida in 1972 for health concerns, KPRS became automated, one of the first radio stations in the United States to do so. Live programming returned in 1987 when grandson Michael Carter was appointed president of the KPRS Broadcasting Corporation. Andrew Carter passed away in 1988, though Mildred Carter continued as CEO and Chairperson until her passing. The company moved its facilities to the Andrew "Skip" Carter Building in 1992, and the company was renamed Carter Broadcast Group the following year. In 1996, Andrew Carter was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Carter Broadcast Group remains the oldest Black-owned and family-operated radio broadcast company in the United States owing to mergers and consolidations of other stations.

The story of KPRS begins with that of Andrew "Skip" Carter, who would become the driving force behind the station for the majority of its existence. Born in 1919, Carter grew up in Savannah, Georgia, where he cultivated an early passion for broadcasting, securing an amateur FCC license and building his own radio from a kit at age 14. (CBG History) He spent three years pursuing a physics degree from Georgia State University before joining the Army from 1940 to 1945. After the war, Carter earned an engineering license from the FCC while attending the RCA Institute for Electronics and New York University. Throughout his early career, Carter pursued various opportunities to move further into the world of broadcasting, seeking to create a Black-centric music station. When segregation stymied his efforts on the East Coast, Carter moved to Chicago, where he became a partner in Kyle, Carter and Eubanks, a firm that offered consulting services centered around Black radio, though he remained frustrated by the lack of progress.

The true genesis of KPRS came in August of 1948 when Broadcast magazine published a letter by Andrew Carter "condemning the FCC’s racist attitude and difficulty he experienced in the radio industry." (CBG History) Among the many subscribers who read the letter was radio station owner and former Kansas Governor Alf Landon. Landon reached out to Carter, hiring him to run KCLO in Leavenworth, KS. Impressed by the station's progress under Carter, Landon helped Carter to become the second Black man ever to be licensed by the FCC as of 1949. The next year, Carter (with Landon as owner) started KPRS, the first Black-run radio station west of the Mississippi River. According to the Missouri Broadcasters Association, the "PRS" in the call letters stood for "People's Radio Station". Initially broadcasting on 1590 AM out of a studio at 12th and Walnut, the station moved to 23rd and Benton in 1952, when Carter and business partners Edward and Psyche Pate purchased the station from the Johnson County Broadcasting Corporation, thus becoming the first Black-owned radio station west of the Mississippi River. Seven years later, Andrew met Mildred Rhone, and the pair married in 1960.

It was at Mildred's prompting that Carter expanded the station to FM wavelengths in 1963, creating a 24-hour simulcast between 1590 AM and 103.3 FM. The Carters gained a controlling interest in the new company in 1969, though they moved to Florida in 1972, citing Andrew's declining health. Three years after their move, KPRS became one of the first fully automated radio stations in the United States. (CBG History) As Andrew's health continued to decline, his grandson Michael Carter was appointed President of the company in 1987 to ensure that it remained family-owned. Andrew's wife Mildred remained CEO and Chairwoman until her death in 2003. Andrew "Skip" Carter passed away in January of 1988, leaving behind a legacy as a trailblazer in the world of radio.

In 1992, the station moved into its current facilities at the Andrew "Skip" Carter Building south and east of this former studio. The following year, the company was renamed Carter Broadcast Group. In 1996, both Andrew Carter and Edward Pate were posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Thanks to the tireless work of Andrew "Skip" Carter and his friends and family, the Carter Broadcast Group remains "the oldest Black owned and family operated radio broadcast company in the United States." (CBG History)

“Andrew ‘Skip’ Carter.” Missouri Broadcasters Association, February 12, 2021. https://www.missouribroadcasters.org/hall-of-fame/andrew-skip-carter/. 

“CBG History.” Hot 103 Jamz!, June 28, 2018. https://www.kprs.com/station/cbg-history/. 

“KPRS.” African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City. Accessed November 15, 2022. https://aahtkc.org/kprs.