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Ronn Pepper
"Buried Alive"



Ronn Pepper 1962

Ronn Pepper was one of the KIOA Good Guys from the early 1960's until sometime in 1964. His upbeat presentation was heard during several different time slots during his time at KIOA.

There was one very distinctive thing about Ron Pepper. He was "buried alive" at the Iowa State Fair. He was actually put 6 feet under the ground near the Varied Industries Building. There was a viewing tube where onlookers could look down. He had a light bulb, food, drink, portable potty, radio and a microphone and he stayed buried for 5 days. It was reported that he was a little anxious when he finally came up out of the tomb.

We have an aircheck of Ronn from 1964. At that time he was doing the mid-day shift. This was just about the time that the KIOA jocks took on the "Good Guy" identity, but slightly before the new Pams jingles with the familiar "KIOA nine forty" logo were used. You will hear a promotional spot for "KIOA Good Guy" sweatshirts in Ronn's aircheck. Note that they were sort of expensive at a whopping $2.99 each.

We don't know a lot about Ronn's career after leaving KIOA, but it has been reported that he was quite popular in Indiana and owned a station.

Ronn Mott (Ronn Pepper) passed away in the summer of 2017

 

 

KIOA Ronn Pepper KIOA aircheck January 1964

 

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