Former Meteorologist Gary Amble reflects on time at KCTV5 as 70th anniversary continues

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - KCTV5 is proudly celebrating 70 years of broadcast excellence. Seven decades of delivering news, entertainment, and community service to the heart of the Midwest. Founded as an FM radio station: KCMO. It wasn’t until years later that its founders were granted the permit to go on the air with regular television programming.

On dedication day, they held a grand ceremony to welcome the new channel and President Harry Truman came and spoke.

Engineers placed a television antenna atop our tower at 31st and Grand --- the landmark tower is still transmitting to this day -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. at the time of its completion, it was the third tallest free-standing structure in the world behind only the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building in New York City and had surpassed the Eiffel Tower by 18 feet to become the tallest tower in the world of its kind.

It was in 1983, that the station decided to change its call letters from KCMO to KCTV.

Over the decades, kctv5 has grown into a staple of local television, adapting to technological advancements and changing viewer preferences.

An evolution that Meteorologist Gary Amble witnessed first-hand after he came on the air in 1994. Amble says “The people inside the building are just incredible, so full of talent. I felt overwhelmed almost every day coming into work, going, how in the world am I going to work with all these talented people, and here I am just this doofus.”

Gary retired two years ago -- and spends his days now --- either on long road trips on his motorcycle or with a fishing pole in his hand.

Now more than ever, KCTV5 stands as a testament to the power of local media in shaping and reflecting the community. Here’s to many more years of broadcasting excellence -- for Local. Live. KCTV5.

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