Salt Lake radio made waves in 2009

Here are some month-by-month highlights of 2009 in the Salt Lake radio market:

January: Rob Boshard leaves KODJ and takes a job for the LDS Church. … Bonneville sweeps the adult Abriton ratings for the fourth quarter of 2008 as KSL, KSFI and KRSP finish 1-2-3, respectively. … Andrew Peters, KNRS news anchor for nine years, dies of prostate cancer. … Clear Channel lays off about 9 percent of its work force. Among the local casualties is Laura Bedore of KOSY. … Allison "Steele" Egan and Tom Jordan, two Salt Lake radio personalities, die from illnesses.

February: KTMY, FM-105.7, becomes an all-Spanish music station, switching from country music. … "Johnson and Johnson" of KUBL host a "lucky" 13-couple wedding on Friday, Feb. 13. The couples get hitched in their cars at a Sonic Drive-In. … KSL and KSFI lead the latest Arbitron ratings for ages 12-plus. … Bonneville reduces it Salt Lake radio station workforce by five people, including Bob Nelson, a 26-year veteran at KSFI. … Paul Harvey dies at age 90.

March: Tom Barberi gets a new online radio show. … Brian James, former KNRS personality, dies in Arizona. … KPCW begins simulcasting on AM-1010 … KUBL holds its annual "Green Jell-O Jump." … 104.7 KYLZ, "Cool, classic rock" music, begins as a brand-new Wasatch Front radio station.

April: "Fisher and Peggy" on KOSY perpetuate a new 45 mph speed limit on the freeway as a April Fool's Day prank. … Kelly Monson returns as morning host on KBZN. … A controversial ad for Internet dating services airs a few times on KXRK before it is killed, but it continues on KZZQ, FM-97.5.

May: KSL and KNRS lead the "winter book" Arbitron ratings. … UTAHFM celebrates one year as an online Utah community radio station. … Bob Henricks is let go from KNRS.

June: KBZN radio switches to a more positive music format, while KMYV abandons a feel-good music format in favor of a top 40 format. … Liberty News Radio, a new network from Utah County, begins nationally.

July: Bonneville and all its stations, including KSL, experience a 15 percent decline in advertising revenues. It cuts employee salaries, vacation time and some perks to remain profitable.

August: KNRS begins simulcasting its news/talk on FM-105.7, with a plan to eventually halt the double broadcasts and begin a new station on AM-570. … KIHU, AM-1010, Utah's first full-time Catholic radio station, premieres.