"I am in MO, not near any big city like KC or ST Louis"
OK, what station are you listening to? Where is it located? It sounds to me like you are too far from a low-powered FM talk station to get good reception. That's how radio works. Try an AM talk station.
LOL! I too am in central Missouri. The only AM talk station I get is out of Jeff City -- 950 a.m. Neal Boortz, Hannity and Rush are on that one. I get FM 93.9 sometimes, but Rush isn't on it. I would go to XM but Rush isn't on it yet, and he's the only one I'd really miss. Good luck to you! You might try stringing a wire out into the trees. That made it work better at our house.
Carolyn