Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and attorneys general from 11 other states have signed onto letter that urges congress to force automakers to install AM radios in new vehicles.
Major automakers have begun ditching AM radio access in some models, but Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says Hurricane Helene shows the “life-saving power…of AM radio and the people who work in those radio stations.”
Bird and the other attorneys general say AM radio stations are the “backbone” of our nation’s Emergency Alert System and become the primary line of communication when electricity is out and cell phones and land phone lines aren’t working. Bird says congress needs to prioritize AM radio and pass a bill that ensures AM radio is standard equipment in all new vehicles.
The attorneys general from the states of Florida and South Carolina that are dealing with Hurricane Helene’s aftermath signed onto the -M radio pitch, as did attorneys general from Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Radios were first installed in cars in the 1920s. By 1940, 20% of the cars in the US had a radio. FM signals were added to dashboard radios in the 1950s.