[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 38 (Monday, March 10, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OZARKS' FIRST TELEVISION 
                       STATION, KOLR, CHANNEL 10

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 10, 2003

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the first television 
station to serve Southwest Missouri. When Channel 10 signed on the air 
on March 14, 1953, it was KTTS-TV. In the early 1970s, the station 
adopted the name KOLR, and today it is known by viewers as ``COLOR 
Ten.''
  Owner Harry Cooper, Sr. located the studios of KTTS-TV at the corner 
of Jefferson and Walnut Streets in Springfield, Missouri, in a large 
white house that was also home to the radio station that he owned. It 
was soon apparent that the TV station needed more room, so in 1959 the 
TV station moved into expanded facilities on its transmitter site in 
east Springfield. The growing CBS affiliate has served the Ozarks from 
2650 East Division Street ever since. Years later, a new 2,000 foot 
tower and transmitter facility were built in Fordland, Missouri.
  KOLR was the first television station in the Ozarks to broadcast ``in 
living color'' and was first in the Ozarks to add stereo broadcasting 
in 1986. In 1999, KOLR 10 began sharing services with FOX affiliate 
Channel 27. In its record of pioneering breakthroughs, KOLR 10 
introduced the area's first full time ``Weather Lab'' in 2000 with the 
region's first Live Doppler Radar staffed by a team of three 
meteorologists.
  In the golden age of television, KOLR was the venue for another 
generation to see Elvis and the Beatles on the ``Ed Sullivan Show,'' 
the weekly comedy of Red Skelton, Jackie Gleason and Jack Benny, and 
the dramas of ``Gunsmoke'' and ``Perry Mason.''
  Channel 10 has been number one in primetime for many years and is 
currently home to such Ozarks favorites as ``Survivor,'' ``60-Minutes'' 
and ``C.S.l.'' and many other programs. The CBS Television Network has 
recognized KOLR 10 as one of the highest rated CBS-affiliated TV 
stations in the nation.
  KOLR has also been a source of information and news on the region and 
the world. KOLR has brought Ed Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather 
into the homes and businesses of the 33 Missouri and Arkansas counties 
it serves.
  Because of KOLR's commitment to local news, it has been the recipient 
of a number of awards for reporting and public service excellence. KOLR 
has given its viewers a window into the growth and development of the 
Ozarks demonstrating that the region is a good place to work, raise a 
family and enjoy countless leisure opportunities.
  The television viewers in Southwest Missouri and I express our 
gratitude to KOLR 10 for its 50 years of service and dedication to the 
Ozarks.

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