70 Years of KODI Radio

On this date 70 years ago, KODI radio went on the air for the first time.

Absaroka Broadcasting Company was started as the brain child of Bill Garlow and two partners immediately after World War II, and began airing from their station south of Cody on Sunday, February 23rd, 1947.

Many notable names from Cody’s history have been associated with KODI radio, including Bill Garlow, who launched the station, Milward Simpson, who bought it from Garlow in 1951, and Jack Richard, who leased the station from Simpson. The late former Mayor Roger Sedam, who began doing radio work at KODI while still in high school in the 60s, went on to purchase the station in 1991, selling it in 1999.

Although the studio’s physical location bounced around the downtown area for decades, in 1978 KODI settled on Mountain View Drive, where it stayed until the current building was constructed next door in the early 2000s.

Currently the station is under the umbrella of the Big Horn Radio Network, owned by Larry and Susan Patrick’s Legend Communications, with Mark Crump as the general manager.

While undergoing many changes throughout its 70 years, KODI remains the news and talk resource for thousands of residents in the Big Horn Basin.