KZIA Inc. CHR “Z102.9” KZIA Cedar Rapids IA has launched “Those Girls in the Afternoon” today featuring previous afternoon host Taylor Martensen and night host Destiny Loney.
The show is built off the podcast “Girl, Can We Chat Quick?” that they duo have hosted for the past two years. Loney has been with the station since 2016 outside of a five month stint hosting nights at “Y107” KTXY Columbia MO and also served as morning show producer at KZIA. Martensen joined the station in 2019 and rose to afternoons following Jenny Valliere’s move to WTMX Chicago in April 2021.
The show becomes the first two-woman fronted show in the Cedar Rapids market.
Z102.9 (KZIA-FM) today announces the launch of the “Those Girls in the Afternoon” show, pairing station veterans Destiny and Taylor. Those Girls in the Afternoon is not only one of the Corridor’s first two-person afternoon radio shows, but it’s also the first show anchored by two women in any daypart. The show will air weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on KZIA- FM (102.9), kzia.com and on smart speakers and smartphones via the free Z102.9 app.
Those Girls in the Afternoon is an on-air reinvention of Destiny and Taylor’s popular “Girl, Can We Chat Quick?” podcast, which they’ve been hosting since 2021. Those Girls pairs two music-loving, coffee-addicted, reality show-bingeing friends not afraid to share with the world their adventures in learning to adult.
Taylor, an Anamosa native and a University of Iowa graduate who has been hosting afternoons on Z102.9 since 2021, is joined by Destiny, a Vinton native and a Kirkwood Community College graduate who previously hosted nights. To celebrate their first show, Those Girls in the Afternoon will be giving away four-packs of tickets to The Kid LAROI’s April 8 concert at Coralville’s Xtream Arena every half hour.
When introduced to the idea, Destiny, Those Girls in the Afternoon co-host, said, “So, you’re saying I get paid to spend four hours every day with my best friend and my favorite listeners? Is this an April Fool’s Day prank?”
Taylor, Those Girls in the Afternoon co-host, responded, “We can’t both be paranoid, so I’ll just be excited. When I started on the Z102.9 Street Team, I never expected to be on the air, let alone getting to host a show every day with a friend. This is great!”
“I’m not paranoid, I just know the world likes messing with me,” Destiny said.
Those Girls in the Afternoon will carry on the tradition of broadcasting greatness from KZIA’s 25 years on the air. “Z102.9 has always had a building full of funny and talented people, like Clare and Eric on The Morning Scramble, winners of the Iowa Broadcasters of the Year Award in 2022; Lady J and now this show,” KZIA President and CEO Julie Hein said. “We’re proud to see how many of our staffers started at Z102.9 while in college, working under our tent at the Farmers Markets, then work their way up to prime time airstaff!”
The co-hosts’ chemistry made them an obvious choice, said Z102.9 Program Director Brian Davis. “My goal for our new afternoon show was to find hosts who are fresh, funny and relevant,” he said. “Destiny and Taylor’s podcast is consistently hilarious, and they have incredible natural chemistry, so putting them together was a no- brainer. It wasn’t our intention to create one of the few two-woman teams in the industry, but Z102.9 has always been a trailblazer, and I’m proud we’re continuing that tradition.”
The team of Taylor and Destiny aligns with the goals of KZIA’s female leaders and owners. “We’re all about empowering women, especially in an industry that was dominated by males for so long,” KZIA Vice President of Programming Chris Jackson said. “Those Girls in the Afternoon are here to entertain and inspire listeners all around Eastern Iowa as they are the true definition of ‘Girl Power!’”
