Steve Broomell (“Fat Daddy” Steve Harris)

Steve Broomell came to KATI from Albequrque, New Mexico at the age of 19 and was described by Shirley Meenan in 2009 as a 19-year old “Engineering and Programming Genius!”  He got his Amateur Radio “Ham” license by the age of 13, his 1st. Class Commercial Radio Telephone Operators License at 16.  By 19, he had already worked in Albuquerque radio at KLOS-AM for three years. That’s where he met 17-year old, Bill Sims, as they worked together there.  Steve also attended the University of New Mexico for a while when he found that college studies were not that important to him.  However, he also met a very young, Bill Yeager, at the University.  All three, Steve, Bill Sims & Bill Yeager, would become key to the early years at KATI radio.

Steve’s Programming experience in Albuquerque in Top-40 radio brought a new “Modern” sound to KATI.  He picked the hits and designed the format for KATI for years to come (particularly in the 60’s & early 70’s) even after he left the station in late 1968.  Steve’s Engineering prowess made KATI the best & Loudest sounding AM-radio station in the western US.  In 1963, Broomell left KATI for a time to move to Boulder, Colorado, with Ken & Misha Prather to help them build and start a new station there (KDEY-AM).  He stayed in Boulder long enough to construct their station and then he went to work for a year or so at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).  While at NCAR, Steve developed several electric circuits and equipment designs for which he was awarded US Patents.  He missed the excitement of on-air radio and returned to broadcasting at KATI in Mid-1965.

In 1965-66, he also designed KATI’s new building & sound studios at 1400 KATI Lane and put the radio station into some of the finest studios in the country, big or small market!  During all this time, Steve remained on the air every afternoon on KATI from 3-7pm. talking to the kids that he loved to program for.  His evening and very late night hours were spent, many times with a “Pony Can” of warm Coor’s Beer in his hand or on the bench, designing and building “Custom” electronic circuits for KATI’s new broadcast console.  Steve’s board was 100% handmade and designed by him, will all the components conveniently located in a metal kitchen cabinet that hung on the wall in the equipment room adjacent to the KATI Control room. 

In 1967, Broomell was just as busy as Pat Meenan had applied for and received from the FCC, Wyoming’s First commercial FM license. The station’s call letters were “KAWY” for Casper Wyoming. Steve built a small area in the new studio to house the FM’s automation system, known as “Iggy!” Originally, KAWY operated at 25-thousand watts with the transmitter co-located with KATI’s site at the Midwest Heights, overlooking Casper. The station signed on in September of 1967.

Due to his expertise in broadcast equipment, Broomell was offered a job with the industry’s largest broadcast & transmitter manufacturer.  In 1968, Steve left KATI to work for Gates Radio Company in Quincy, Illinois as national FM Products Manager.  He stayed there a couple of years and then moved to CBS Labs at Hartford, Connecticut, designing AM-radio program processors.

Broomell did return to Wyoming and broadcasting in the early to mid 70’s where he started his own broadcast engineering consulting company.  He even ended up working with his old friend, Bill Sims, build a couple of his radio stations,  KOJO in Laramie & later KUGR in Green River.  By the Late 70’s, Steve was the Chief Engineer for KTWO-Radio & Television, in Casper, and while there they put on another TV station in Cheyenne (KKTU-TV).  He left KTWO in late 1985, and went to California for a time to work for a company there but he returned to Casper in about 1988 to work for a new Casper television station.  During his time there he was diagnosed with cancer and later died on March 23, 1991 due to complications of surgery.  Steve Broomell was only 52-years old.