Lee Muntz retires after 32 years at Fairfield radio station

FAIRFIELD — Lee Muntz is hanging up his microphone at the end of the month when he retires from KMCD/Classic 96 after 32 years at the radio station.

A thank-you celebration is being held for Muntz from 4-6 p.m. Saturday in Fairfield’s Central Park. The Jefferson County Cattlemen will serve burger meals, which will be free to the first 200 people who show up.

Sports fans know Muntz not just as an on-air personality but as the announcer at Fairfield athletic events. Muntz said he will continue announcing home games for Fairfield sports just as he has for the past three decades.

“I’ll love that because when the game is over, I’m done,” Muntz said.

Muntz is turning 65 this month. He said he loves covering Trojan athletics and relaying all the exciting moments over the air, but the combination of late evening work and early mornings is something he’s ready to leave behind.

Muntz wakes up at 4 a.m. and is at the station by 4:30 a.m., where he prepares broadcast clips for sports and weather. He has a disc jockey shift from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where he has to record tracks to be played before or after songs, as well as clips about the weather and upcoming events.

A native of Keokuk, Muntz dreamed of becoming the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals in his youth. Muntz loved sports, and was the stat keeper for a few teams in high school.

“And I love radio because you can draw a picture for the audience,” he said.

After graduating from Keokuk High School in 1974, he got his bachelor of arts in radio and television journalism at Drake University. After that, Muntz worked for a Mt. Pleasant radio station for five years as a jack of all trades. He spent some time working in the customer service department for Heatilator in Mt. Pleasant.

“I was on the phone all day, and when I came home, I said I’m not answering any more phone calls,” Muntz joked.

Muntz spent one year working for KCII in Washington doing sports, then back to Mt. Pleasant for a job at Walmart. He said his “radio itch” returned, and he was able to land a job at KMCD in Fairfield in 1989, where he’s been ever since.

Muntz spoke about some of his fondest memories covering local sports.

One that stood out was the Fairfield High School girls’ basketball team defeating No. 4 ranked North Scott to go to the state tournament in 2018. North Scott was the defending state champion at the time and had a raucous home crowd cheering them on. Muntz compared it to Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“We got down 15-2, but took the lead and never trailed in the second half,” Muntz recalls.

Muntz said he remembers the 1998 state champion Pekin football team as a “machine” the likes of which he’s never seen before or since.

“They averaged 10 yards per carry,” he said. “They were the best team I’ve ever covered.”

Muntz said he’s been amazed at the tremendous success of the Fairfield girls’ tennis team, which has produced state champions such as Anatta Charoenkul and Yana Gaskell. In fact, playing tennis with his daughter Kristen is one thing Muntz is looking forward to about retirement.

Muntz is looking forward to spending more time with his family, his grandkids and his great-grandchild who is on the way in August. Lee and his wife, Deb, have two daughters, Jenifer Rowe and Kristen Nicholson; grandchildren Katie Rowe-Van Tasell, A.J. Rowe, and Mila, Emmitt and Claira Nicholson.