Dowe owned several stations throughout Texas, and had made himself a name in radio during 20 years with Gordon McLendon's KLIF 1190 in Dallas.

Dowe continued co-ownership of KRLB-AM-FM (KRLB AM, later KJBX AM, then KRFE AM) until the mid '90s (1993 or 1994) when it was sold to South Plains Broadcasting (owner of KFMX-FM & KKAM) through a bankruptcy auction.

At that time South Plains Broadcasting had no interest in retaining AM 580 and would sell the station back to "Big" Ed Wilkes and Paul Beane.

Jay Leeson hosted KRFE's local afternoon drive talk show in two separate stints, the last one ending on March 29, 2019.

Previous afternoon show hosts for KRFE in the 2000s and 2010s included: Armando Gonzales & Ysidro Gutierrez, former Lubbock City Councilman Todd Klein & Lance Cansino, and Kelly Plasker.

In November 2019, Paul McArthur commenced hosting KRFE's local afternoon show, ending in mid-2020.