DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – Several staff members at Des Moines sports radio station KXNO lost their jobs Tuesday as part of nationwide layoffs by iHeartRadio, KCCI reports
The layoffs came Tuesday afternoon, Longtime host Heather Burnside, her co-host and her producer were all laid off.
Program director Sean Roberts, his co-host and his producer were also let go.
Hosts respond
Burnside addressed her departure on X.
“I’m no longer at KXNO and The Bus. Thank you so much for listening and being part of my extended family,” she said.
Roberts also posted online following the layoffs.
“I got to live out a dream and I will be forever thankful. This is all I ever wanted to do,” he said.
Listeners react
Some Des Moines sports fans said the loss extends beyond the station itself.
“We’re losing a lot of outlets for our local colleges to talk to us fans through them,” Ryan May said.
“I think that even speaks to a broader thing in our community, we’re losing local spots. Local bars, local restaurants, we’re losing a local radio station. That’s scary,” Travis Halm said.
What’s left
iHeartRadio operates four stations in Des Moines. Three of the four have lost all of their local talent, including their female hosts. Listeners have been hearing national programming since the layoffs.
Miller and Condon, a sports talk station independently owned by Ken Miller and Trent Condon, was not affected by the iHeartRadio layoffs.
The announcement came one day before Miller was set to retire after 30 years at KXNO. He skipped his final show in protest of the layoffs.
iHeartRadio and KXNO did not respond to requests for comment.
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