Print Article
If you live in the Eagle Mountain ranches area, and you have been trying to find a new FM radio station, you may of stumbled on a broadcast on Sunday nights. Chris Floyd, “The Muffinman” was asked by his church to be what is called an Emergency Preparedness Specialist. He accepted the responsibility and has also found a way to expand it and help him pursue his love for radio. The Muffinman is not new to radio. Chris could be heard on the airwaves in Globe, AZ for five years doing a radio morning show. The Muffinman explains, “I thought it would be nice that in the event of an emergency (blizzard, earthquake, power outage etc) that we could provide information to the ward (who might need help etc.) then I thought wouldn’t it be fun to do a weekly radio show. I broadcast old radio shows from the 30’s – 60’s and also provide public service announcements, local news, stupid funny stuff and we always close the show with a bedtime story for the little ones.” Chris is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints. His church is broken up into local congregations that are called wards, and members of those wards are given “callings” or assignments that help the ward function.
The station only runs for a few hours on Sunday night, and has a limited listening area. It currently only broadcasts to a section of the Eagle Mountain ranches. Chris explains, “Our broadcast frequency is FM 87.9 and most any FM radio can pick that up however our signal really only goes a few blocks so ideally streaming over the internet is a much better way for someone who wants to listen outside of my neighborhood. To stream one needs only to go to www.eaglemountainradio.net and click the “stream shows” button, they can then select live stream or previous shows. It will stream right through their browser, works on phones too. The show of course is only on Sunday night but we stream music the rest of the time (this could change of course as new ideas evolve). We fire up the transmitter at 6:00 PM and start with an hour of music then the show begins at 7:00 PM. The show is usually a little over an hour.”
The Muffinman does not work alone, he has two other neighbors that help with the show. Leno (Layne Cromwell) and Alan Kendall also help with the project. Alan Kendall has lived in Eagle Mountain for 6 years, he is an 8th grade Special Education teacher and has always loved performing, reading, and generally playing around in front of people. Alan made this comment about his work with The Muffinman, “I don’t have previous radio experience, but working with the Muffinman has been incredible. Chris knows what he is doing and we are having fun and performing a public service at the same time. I love that the program introduces people to the shows from a time when radio was so important and integral to people’s lives. The shows are amazing!”
When The Muffinman is asked what the future of the project may be he responded, “Well we will see how this goes while the over air broadcast is a calling, really the original goal was to provide a mechanism to get information to our ward in an emergency, that will likely stay indefinitely regardless of whether I do it or the next person called would like to do it. However the show that we do would likely move exclusively to an internet based media…” “I’m really looking to provide a fun vehicle for the community. In today’s chaotic and complicated world, our show allows people to step back into a simpler time even if only for an hour a week. …we have an open offer to anyone who would like to produce their own show and we will air it for them (providing it is family friendly and of interest to at least some of our listeners) perhaps a show on genealogy or how to bake Aunt Martha’s muffins and really anything of interest that would work in a radio format.”
So, if you want to step back in time, get some Eagle Mountain specific news, tune your radios to FM 87.9 on Sunday evening. If you are out of their transmission range, or miss an episode, make sure you catch up and listen to their streaming shows from their website www.eaglemountainradio.net.
Additional Resources
www.eaglemountainradio.net
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.