Resident returns to broadcasting after storied career

It’s hard to leave the host chair behind after a long career in radio and television. For villa resident Roy Justis, though, the allure of returning to that seat came from a desire to reconnect with his home town.

He called Cedar Falls Community Television (CFCT) Channel 15 a few years ago to inquire about volunteering and was quickly put to work as the host of a program called “Serving the Valley,” a talk show which profiles non-profit organizations.

“Selfishly, I use these broadcasts to meet people,” Justis explains. “Moving back to Cedar Falls after 50 years, things have changed. And it’s easy for me to host, because I’m just curious – that's what got me into media in the first place.”

Justis recently returned to recording new programs for Channel 15 after a long hiatus due to the pandemic and then a City Hall renovation. The subject matter is a natural fit for him; he served as president of the Iowa City Rotary Club and currently belongs to the Cedar Falls club and the local Lions Club. He and his wife, Rita, help lead the Big Kids Bike Klub at WHC. The high school sweethearts, married in 1960, returned to their hometown in 2015.

“If you look, there’s a lot to do here!” Roy enthuses. “It’s been very enjoyable.”

Long-timers in the Cedar Valley might recall Roy from his early days on-air. He started at KWWL AM radio at age 16, deejaying for a rock-and-roll show from 7 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday.

Then KWWL-TV bought the franchise rights for Bozo the Clown. Roy donned a red wig, oversized shoes, white face paint and a broad smile for two years, ad libbing his way through an hour and 45 minute live show where he introduced cartoons, interviewed sponsors and entertained local children. “I was hiding behind the makeup,” he laughs.

The job helped pay the bills and, in 1966, he took a job at KCRG in Cedar Rapids, reporting for radio during the week and television on the weekends. The young family settled in Iowa City in 1968 for what would become a 37-year run at KXIC radio. Then Roy served as an adjunct instructor on the journalism faculty at U of Iowa from 2006-2011.

You can catch “Serving the Valley” on CFU Cable Channel 15, typically at 4 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Roy Justis laughs during a taping of “Serving the Valley.”