Another Big Honor for NWKS Radio: Addison Stoddard Named 2026 KAB Rising Star

It has already been a banner year for NWKS Radio, and now there is another major honor to celebrate!

Addison Stoddard has been named the 2026 Kansas Association of Broadcasters Rising Star Award recipient for Radio, adding another impressive achievement to a growing list of honors for NWKS Radio and its staff.

The announcement comes as several NWKS Radio staff members are preparing to receive KAB awards this year, while RockIt 102.5 has earned one of the biggest honors of all: being named the 2025 KAB Station of the Year.

Add in longtime NWKS Radio broadcaster Curtis Duncan being selected for the KAB Hall of Fame, and 2026 is shaping up to be a pretty special year for the NWKS Radio family.

Now, one of the newest members of that family is being recognized as one of the rising stars of broadcasting in Kansas.

From College to Rising Star

Addison joined NWKS Radio right out of college in May 2025. In a little more than a year, she has quickly become an important part of the station's on-air lineup and its agricultural coverage.

Today, Addison serves as the Kansas Farm and Ranch Radio Network Director and hosts the morning show on KXXX 790, which includes the Auction Block. And anyone around NWKS Radio knows those two titles only begin to describe everything she does.

Her work has helped expand agricultural news and programming, bringing farmers and ranchers timely information, interviews, market updates and stories about the people and issues affecting agriculture across Kansas.

The KAB Rising Star Award recognizes emerging broadcasters who have made a significant impact on their stations and communities early in their careers. The award honors broadcasters who demonstrate professional excellence, innovation, leadership potential and a commitment to serving their communities while helping shape the future of broadcasting in Kansas.

That makes Addison's selection even more exciting considering just how quickly her broadcasting career has taken off.

A Big Year for NWKS Radio

Addison's Rising Star Award is the latest recognition in what has become an incredible awards season for NWKS Radio.

Several NWKS Radio staff members will receive KAB awards for their work, RockIt 102.5 has been named the 2025 KAB Station of the Year, and Curtis Duncan will receive the KAB Hall of Fame Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.

Those honors recognize different generations and different areas of broadcasting, but they all share something in common: a commitment to local radio and the communities it serves.

Curtis represents decades of service to Kansas broadcasting. RockIt 102.5 and the NWKS Radio staff are being recognized for the work being done on the air and in the community today. And now Addison is being recognized as one of the broadcasters helping lead the industry into the future.

That's a pretty exciting combination.

KAB selected one radio and one television broadcaster for its 2026 Rising Star Awards. Amanda Salgado of KOAM-TV was selected as the television recipient. Other individual honorees announced by KAB include the late Lucky Kidd of Ad Astra Radio with the Sonny Slater Award and Lindsay Randall-Fabrizius of MSC Radio Group with the Mike Oatman Award.

Addison and the other honorees will be recognized during the 2026 KAB Annual Convention on October 19 in Wichita.

For Addison, it will mark another milestone in a broadcasting career that is just getting started.

From joining NWKS Radio fresh out of college in May 2025 to being named the 2026 KAB Rising Star for Radio just over a year later, Addison has certainly lived up to the name of the award.

Congratulations, Addison Stoddard!