Ad Astra Radio is excited to introduce the newest member to the News Team, Kaitlyn Wolters-Mauro from Atwood, Kansas.
Kaitlyn will have the title of Hutchinson/Larned News Director.
“At Ad Astra Radio, we take our role as local broadcasters very seriously. We want to entertain, engage and inform our listeners and we’re excited to add Kaitlyn to our team in order to help us spread more news content to our listeners in small towns and rural areas,” Ad Astra Radio’s President & Chief Executive Officer Chris Shank said. “Kaitlyn’s background in Ag and Local Broadcasting is a huge asset to Ad Astra Radio’s news team! We are thrilled to have her joining us at Ad Astra Radio and Billboards!”
In her new position with Ad Astra, Kaitlyn is willing to help wherever she is needed, adding that she has a special interest in social media and editing. She is also excited to meet community members, county extension agents and advisors for FFA.
“Kaitlyn joining the team gives us the ability to expand our coverage of local news and events,” Ad Astra Radio’s VP & Chief Programming Officer Aaron Napier said. “Being able to do more for the communities we serve is exciting. She’s going to be a great addition.”
Kaitlyn graduated from Rawlins County Junior/Senior High School in 2020. She later graduated from Kansas State University in 2024, where she studied Animal Science with an option in production management.
“I was kind of born into the purple a little bit,” she admitted.
After her sophomore year at K-State, Kaitlyn did a rotating internship with Cobalt Cattle Company in Leoti, Kan., learning all the different aspects of the feed yard.
“It was a really good time,” she said. “I grew up with cattle, and that was kind of always my thing.”
Josh Wolters (Kaitlyn’s dad) is the President of Surepoint Ag Systems, while her mom, Lisa manages their cattle operations (Lucky Cross Ranch). Kaitlyn’s older brother, Ryan works for John Deere as an engineer.
In 2023 Kaitlyn ended up in Iowa for Summit Agricultural Group.
“I was a Swine Intern there and had never really been around pigs, and certainly not large scale pigs, but that was really cool, and I got a lot of experience there,” Kaitlyn said.
Everyone there had a summer project and Kaitlyn’s was making a hiring video for caretakers: How to be a caretaker and other aspects like that.
“That kind of reinforced how much I love production and videos and that kind of thing,” Kaitlyn said.
According to Kaitlyn, her start in broadcasting was “kind of a fluke deal”.
As she was applying for a lot of different jobs leading up to graduation, one position she had applied for – a farm broadcaster with Kyle Bauer in Clay Center – had already been filled, so Bauer sent her name to Chad Jones in Colby.
The experience was new to Kaitlyn because none of her previous internships had really aligned with it, but she learned all she could.
Kaitlyn later got the job as Farm Broadcaster for the Kansas Farm and Ranch Radio Network, then had an on air shift for KXXX in Colby.
“And I really enjoyed that job, just kind of getting to do the production side that I like, with editing the audio and everything,” Kaitlyn said. “It was just so different from anything else.”
Kaitlyn married Jeremy Mauro on May 24, 2025. Jeremy recently acquired a job at Kuhn Krause as an engineer, which brought the couple to Hutchinson.
The two are looking forward to getting to know the Hutchinson area.
Some places they are excited to visit are Strataca, the Kansas Underground Salt Museum, and the Cosmosphere. They are also excited to go to the Kansas State Fair this year as new members of the Hutchinson community.
“I really enjoy that it still feels small enough here that I’m comfortable, but it’s big enough that it’s better,” Kaitlyn said.
