Interview of Kathleen Holt and Quentin Hope, August 14, 2026

In their 2026 oral history interview, Kathleen Holt and Quentin Hope recounted the establishment of High Plains Public Radio (HPPR) in western Kansas. During the interview Holt and Hope recalled how the station began in the late 1970s as a grassroots community project to create a source of intellectual and cultural connection in a sparsely populated region. They described overcoming technical and financial hurdles, repurposing an old school building and a former library to create studios, and placing radio equipment atop grain elevators to expand the reach of the station’s signal. They emphasized that the station was built with a pioneering spirit of shared resources, relying on personal local credibility and a vast network of dedicated volunteers. Holt and Hope highlight HPPR's evolution into a regional resource that, at the time of the interview, served the western one-third of Kansas and parts of nearby Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. Holt and Hope concluded their interview by expressing the wish that future generations sustain this civic legacy by adapting to new types of media while maintaining the core mission of strengthening the community.

Civility; Cultural values; News Services; Population density; Public Radio; Rural life; Western Kansas; Community Organizing

Kathleen Holt was born in Dodge City, Kansas and has spent most of her life in and around western Kansas. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas in 1973 and a Master of Liberal Studies, Social Sciences at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas in 2006. Holt began her professional career in child welfare, working in roles that ranged from foster care and family services to leadership in workforce development. During the final sixteen years of her full-time career, Holt served the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare as a coach and curriculum development specialist, helping prepare and support child welfare professionals across Kansas. She also is recognized for her involvement in rural community development and grant writing. Working with local governments, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and foundations, she secured millions of dollars in grants that strengthened public broadcasting, education, health care, community facilities, economic development, and regional partnerships across western Kansas. A founding leader of High Plains Public Radio, at the time of this interview Holt continued in retirement to produce the award-winning HPPR programs, Radio Readers Book Club and Poets on the Plains, while serving as vice-president of the Kansas Oral History Project.

Quentin Hope was born and raised in Garden City, Kansas. He graduated from Garden City High School in 1972, then earned a B.A. in communication studies from Oberlin College and a Master of Public and Private Management from Yale's School of Organization and Management. At the time of this interview he lived in Denver, Colorado, although he has said that the High Plains remain his “home country.” In July 1975, he shared his idea for a southwestern Kansas community radio station with friends gathered at his parents’ home. That conversation led to the creation of the nonprofit Kanza Society in 1977. Its flagship station, KANZ-FM, began broadcasting in 1980 from a former elementary school in Pierceville, Kansas. Following his graduate studies at Yale, Hope worked in New York City as a senior engagement manager, advising major companies on business strategy, organizational design, management effectiveness, and organizational change. Hope has remained closely involved with HPPR throughout his career. At the time of this interview he served as HPPR's executive director on a pro bono basis. Hope has also worked as a faculty member, coach, and program leader in media-transformation initiatives associated with the Poynter Institute and other journalism organizations. In these roles, he has helped news and public-media organizations strengthen their operations, develop digital audiences, generate revenue, and adapt to changes in the media environment.

Garden City, Kansas