Kansas radio has lost one of its most recognizable and dedicated news voices.
Edward “Lucky” Kidd, longtime News & Public Affairs Director for Ad Astra Radio, passed away today at the age of 64, leaving behind a legacy of local journalism, trusted reporting, and an unmistakable passion for community broadcasting.
For years, Lucky served listeners across central Kansas, delivering local news and public affairs programming heard on Ad Astra’s family of stations serving Hutchinson, McPherson, Larned, Iola, and surrounding communities. Whether it was breaking news, city government, school board meetings, agriculture, or community events, Lucky believed local radio mattered because local people mattered. Ad Astra’s newsroom became the heartbeat for news heard across its growing Kansas network.
There are people in radio you’ll always remember because they were larger than life. Lucky Kidd was one of those people. If you ever had the privilege of working with him, you knew there wasn’t another broadcaster quite like Lucky.
On The Dial President and Publisher Steven Mills had that privilege in the late 1990s while working alongside Lucky at Cliff Shank’s Ad Astra Broadcasting. There was a time when the two worked together every single day, sharing the controlled chaos that only a local radio station can produce.
Lucky could be misunderstood at times. He had strong opinions, a unique personality, and he wasn’t afraid to tell you exactly what he thought. But if you looked beyond that, you discovered one of the nicest men you’d ever meet—a broadcaster whose love for radio never faded.
And if you really knew Lucky… you also knew there was one other thing that could light up his face almost as much as a great radio story.
The Kansas Lottery.
Let’s just say if there was a scratch ticket nearby, Lucky probably knew about it first.
That little smile and that hopeful optimism somehow fit him perfectly.
Lucky represented an era when local news directors knew every mayor, every sheriff, every county commissioner, and every back road in the communities they served. He understood that local radio wasn’t simply a business. It was a public service.
Kansas broadcasting is a little quieter tonight.
But somewhere, I’d like to think Lucky has already found the newsroom… and maybe even the winning lottery ticket.
On behalf of everyone at On The Dial, we extend our deepest condolences to Lucky’s family, his friends, and everyone at Ad Astra Radio. Thank you, Lucky, for your years of service to Kansas broadcasting and for reminding us why local radio still matters.
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On The Dial covers breaking radio industry news, including layoffs, programming changes, talent moves, and broadcast trends across the United States.