Lotus Hot AC “Star 101.5” KPLZ Seattle has announced the return of Curt Kruse and Jen Pirak to mornings at the station.
Kruse has been with KPLZ since 2002 first as afternoon host before moving to mornings in December 2018 until Lotus’s take-over of the station at the end of 2021. He has since continued serving as Assistant Program Director and hosting nights and middays at the station. Pirak has been with KPLZ since 1994 and has served as Promotions Director since 1996. She joined the Kent & Alan morning show in 2005 and followed Kent Phillips to afternoons in 2018 before moving to an off-air role when Lotus acquired the station.
They succeed John Moug and Angie Parker, who were let go on Monday.
Jeff Connell, Program Director/afternoon host of Classic Hits “107.1 K-Hits” KTHI Boise, has been promoted to Regional Program Director adding oversight of KPLZ. A Seattle area native, Connell has previously worked at 93.3 KUBE, 106.1 KBKS, and multiple iterations of 96.5 in the market. He has also programmed for the Christian AC “Way-FM” network in both Denver and its national office in Nashville before relocating to Boise in 2014 as Operations Manager for Townsquare’s cluster. Connell joined KTHI in his current role in 2020.
He tells us, “First, we have announced that Curt Kruse and Jen Pirak will be taking over mornings. Both are Seattle and Star 101.5 veterans who have been a part of successful morning shows on this station for many years. Jen will also continue to serve as Promotions & Marketing Director, and Curt as APD.
Not only are Curt & Jen well-known to our audience (and the entire Puget Sound region), but they are also close friends and colleagues who have worked side-by-side for years. They bring unique perspectives and life experiences anchored with the awareness that they have been part of our community for decades. Curt and Jen’s love and passion for STAR 101.5 has been evident throughout the years as they have each been part of extremely successful eras of mornings on this station.
In addition, I have added programming responsibilities at KPLZ-FM in addition to KTHI-FM Boise and now am serving as Regional Program Director for Lotus.
A desire to return to Northwest meant a relocation to Boise in 2014 where he was Operations Manager for Townsquare Media’s 6 stations, and then a move to Lotus Boise in 2020 where he is PD and afternoons of 107.1 K-HITS which he will remain in that role as he adds his new duties at KPLZ. Jeff has always felt connected to Seattle and is excited to be a part of the STAR 101.5 and working closely with APD Curt Kruse and all the Lotus Seattle team.”
Connell fills the role that had most recently been held by Lisa Adams. Adams stepped down at the end of July to relocate back to Boise.
