HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – KNDI radio, a multilingual station that has served Hawaii’s immigrant communities for 66 years, has gone dark on the AM dial after being forced to vacate its transmitter tower, leaving hosts and listeners scrambling to reconnect.
The station had been broadcasting from a tower in Kalihi, and says it still had three years remaining on its lease when it was told to vacate by Dec. 31 of last year, citing safety concerns.
The land under the tower is owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which has not described the specific safety concerns.
Station executives say they do not plan to sue and are instead focused on raising money to install a new transmitter at a tower in Mapunapuna.
Hosts say listeners, especially elders, left without a signal
KNDI host Flor Martinez, who has been on the air for decades, said the loss hit him hard.
“I was devastated. For so many years that we had been in the air and all of a sudden we are not there anymore,” Martinez said. “Our responsibility to our audience, to our people listening to us, as if we have betrayed them and it’s so sad.”
Hispanic-language host Rolando Sanchez said listeners were left confused by the sudden disappearance.
“They had no idea what’s going on, what’s happening, and all of the station, we have a problem,” Sanchez said. “We’re on the air. We’re not. We’re here. We’re there.”
Host Ernie Bautista said he has been fielding calls from listeners who can no longer find his program.
“I don’t want my listeners confused. (They) keep calling me, ‘How can I get into your program?’” Bautista said.
He said he has been directing listeners to the station’s Facebook page as an alternative. “If they cannot find me on the regular program, AM, FM or whatever, you can always join me on Facebook.”
AM signal offered statewide reach
The station’s AM frequency provided statewide coverage because low-frequency AM signals travel farther than FM and can penetrate physical obstacles, making the band particularly valuable for emergency information.
The station launched a new FM site last year at frequency 104.7, and it is continuing all its programming, but its audience is shrinking, which means lower advertising revenue.
The station’s youngest host, Bryan Munoz said they didn’t have enough notice to stay on the AM band.
“We were heartbroken because it was like abrupt and we had to do what we could to keep things going,” Munoz said. “But a lot of people miss the AM.”
Station seeks $500K to restore signal
KNDI went on the air in 1960 with an all-female lineup as a short-lived attention-getter.
The station is known for its Filipino hosts and programming but also carries regular content in multiple immigrant languages. Between music, hosts share medical advice, community events and even funeral announcements.
The station broadcasts from a rented house on South King Street and operates on a modest budget.
Station executives say relocating the AM transmitter will cost approximately $500,000.
Along with a GoFundMe page for public donations, the station is seeking grants from government agencies and foundations.
Sanchez said the community’s connection to the station runs deep.
“The dependence of people to have some way of knowing what’s going on, we don’t want it to disappear,” he said.
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