Accidentally Historic

It has to be one of the Omaha area’s greatest “rags-to-riches” stories. Radio station Sweet 98 (KQKQ-FM) became hugely popular, for 25 years dominating the Omaha metro ratings as the area’s first personality-driven FM music station, kicking off with “Breakfast Flakes” Mark Evans and Dick Warner in the summer of 1980. Known for its nonstop promotions, high dollar giveaways, and colorful, opulent studio appearing somewhat like a spaceship, its origin was considerably more humble. The station was in poor economic shape when owner John Mitchell came up with a plan to completely reinvent it, switching the progressive, album-oriented format to popular Top 40 music. The transformation was extensive and involved an almost complete staff turnover. Just three people were retained from the old station to become part of the new Sweet 98, which started in a converted apartment building at 36th and West Broadway in Council Bluffs. This podcast brings those three together. Kevin Kassera (“Special K”), Dick Warner, and Bob Warner talk and reminisce about the conditions leading up to the format change and the beginning of Sweet 98.

Excerpts of the podcast can be found in a video on the Historical Society's YouTube channel at

FInd photos at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Council-Bluffs-Revealed-281093015390863/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1429948487171971

Comments and questions are always welcome. Contact the Historical Society at [email protected]. If you are interested in Council Bluffs history be sure to check our our local history videos. Search for Council Bluffs Revealed in the YouTube search bar. The Society also hosts a Facebook page called Council Bluffs Revealed.

Perched atop one of the highest hills, Council Bluffs' first high school building in 1870 reflected the city’s optimism as much as it did society’s expectations of education. The towering building had a chapel, but no facilities for practical training; there was no sports equipment, yet ample rifles and live ammunition to arm all students. In this episode Historical Society member Michael Winchester explores the city's first high school building and why it quickly fell out of use, the struggle over where to rebuild, how Abraham Lincoln High School’s first principal, Gerald W. Kirn, came to define the school he ruled for over a quarter century plus how changing societal expectations influenced design and remodeling of the new building while along the way creating a new stage in life called adolescence. Intriguing bits of trivia pop up along the way, including a football field that wasn’t quite long or wide enough, why the ROTC drill room was left with a dirt floor, the district's lack of concerned over a fifty percent dropout rate, and a system of secret tunnels discovered by students but unknown to the administration.

Michael Winchester has served as vice-president of the Council Bluffs school board. He and fellow school board member Michael O'Bradovich were subjects of a story on the television program “60 Minutes” in 1976 when host Mike Wallace interviewed them about their status as the youngest elected public officials in the United States and their interest in preserving the city’s old school buildings. A graduate of Creighton University’s law school, Mr. Winchester served nearly thirty years as an Omaha city prosecutor and is now semi-retired. He has been inducted into Abraham Lincoln High School’s Hall of Fame.

A short video except of this podcast can be found on the Historical Society's YouTube Channel at

Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome at [email protected].

Seasonal haunted houses appeared on the local scene about fifty years ago, initially fund raisers for a variety of groups and causes. Youth For Christ, Campus Life, March of Dimes, the Jaycees, and the Historical Society were early participants. From church basements and abandoned buildings to semi truck trailers in parking lots, haunted houses proliferated by the 1980s. Generally staffed by youthful volunteers intent on making their particular character and their venue as scary as possible, the endeavor brought together imagination, creativity and theatrics to become something of an art form in its own right.

Safety standards imposed following a 1980s tragedy in New Jersey escalated costs, forcing some small players out of the business, to be replaced by commercial operators. The better financial position of the latter allowed for investment in more elaborate displays and equipment. This, coupled with technology developments of the past decade, have made the modern haunted houses in many ways quite different from their predecessors, but some tried-and-true techniques can always be counted on for a scare.

Haunted House historians Doug Kabourek and Brian Corey reminisce about Council Bluffs and Omaha’s early haunted houses, describe what makes a haunted house work, and discuss the allure they have had for young people and why that age demographic is expanding. Doug has used what he has learned over the years to create a haunted house in his basement. Designed to simulate the experience of the houses of the 1980s, it is called “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Find more information at https://www.facebook.com/sundaybloodysunday.

Doug Kabourek also maintains a website the chronicles the haunted houses of Council Bluffs and Omaha at www.WickedPlaza.com

Brian Corey hosts a horror movie, paranormal, and spooky podcast call Necronomicast at www.necronomicast.com

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO COVID MANY HAUNTED HOUSE ATTRACTIONS DID NOT OPEN FOR THE 2020 SEASON.