Kris Arnold oozes cool. She’s rocking an all-black outfit and black sparkly slides, her blonde beachy waves shot through with vivid pink. She looks like she’d be right on point in front of the camera on a cool music show or fronting a rock band. But fortunately, for Central Oregonians, she’s quite happy behind the mic, playing a wide selection of rock from the past five decades as a DJ on 92/9 FM.
It’s no surprise she’s this year’s Best Radio Personality in the Source readers’ poll. She’s won it countless times over the years. She said the win never gets old.
“(People) kind of have to jump through hoops to fill out that ballot. You have to know my name and what station I work for, so yes, it means a lot. I’m thankful to everyone out there,” said Arnold, as Cassie, her Husky mix that accompanies her to work, snoozes in the corner of the studio in Southwest Bend. Arnold has always loved music and radio. She got her start behind the mic while in high school and worked in the recording industry for Atlantic Records in Los Angeles. A move to Bend saw her land at 92/9, where she’ll celebrate two decades behind the mic next May. She’s the program director in addition to hosting on air Monday through Friday from 10am-3pm and on Saturdays from Noon-5pm. She also hosts a Tuesday night show at 8, called “Highway 97,” that highlights local bands and artists.
She loves the chance to expose people to music they might not have heard before, and also to play beloved songs that get listeners pumped up.
“I just love playing music for people because I hope it makes them happy and maybe changes the trajectory of their day if they hear something they love or something that surprises them,” she said from the studio on Bend’s west side. “My hope is I’ll just make someone’s day because music has that power, right? It could make or break your day.”
Arnold, sitting in her DJ chair in between songs, graciously agrees to answer a couple rapid-fire questions about music.
Top five favorite songs?
“That’s impossible. I can’t do it,” she said with a laugh before rattling off The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” as number one and then pausing to think about the next ones, which include Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot” and “anything” by The Replacements. “I love The Replacements,” she said, before capping off her list with “Old to Begin” by Pavement.
First song she remembers hearing?
“Simon & Garfunkel, because that was my dad’s favorite band,” she recalls. “Maybe ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.’”
Song she can’t resist singing along with when it comes on?
“Anything from the ‘70s. Maybe Player’s ‘Baby Come Back’ or something with Michael McDonald singing on it,” she said.
As she prepares to slip on her headphones and jump back on the air to spin tunes across the Central Oregon airwaves, she says winning the award made her day. And she plans to be around to win many more.
“I’ve been working here for 19 years,” she said. “As long as they let me stay on the air, I’ll stay on air.”
Runner Up: Dave Clemens 105.7 FM
Kris Arnold
On the air Mon-Fri 10am-3pm; Sat Noon-5pm; Tue 8pm
92.9 FM
This article appears in Best of Central Oregon 2026 and the Source August 13, 2026.
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