It was 39 years ago today that I began my journey towards becoming a professional radio broadcaster at Brown Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also known affectionately as “the voice factory of the Midwest”, this is where us kids who were too lazy to go to college and too scared to steal would go for our… Read More »
Happy National Radio Day, y’all! Seriously, it’s a real holiday. Look it up! Ironically, August 20th was also the day that I left home 38 years ago to begin my radio journey. Just a few days earlier, I received “the call” from Mike Kronforst, Placement Director at Brown Institute. Mike said “I think I might… Read More »
35 years ago tonight, I began a very fun radio adventure in Fort Dodge, Iowa. “The Minnesota Maniac” took to the nighttime airwaves on Z94, KKEZ. I still can’t believe I got away with some of the stuff I did on-the-air! Thank you, Jim Davis, for believing in that 22-year-old kid enough to hire him… Read More »
“THE GOAT’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY A TO Z” just kicked off at 5PM. For those who aren’t familiar, WXYG is an album rock station, located in St. Cloud, Minnesota. They began operation on June 24, 2011. In celebration of their 10th anniversary of broadcasting, The Goat is playing every song in their library from A to… Read More »
20 years ago today, I did my last radio show. When I was in my 20s and early 30s, I never thought this day would come. I lived, ate, and breathed radio. I wanted to be one of those guys who never retired, who literally spoke his final words behind a live microphone. Industries change.… Read More »
My friend and co-worker Dave Boller took this photo back when we both worked at “The Fine 99-9” KWKR in Garden City, Kansas. This monster was our control board: a Harris Micro Mac console. Major overkill for a radio station. I believe it was designed for use as a TV sound board. Notice there were… Read More »
Radio friends, be sure to grab your best receiver and scan the AM dial today. The solar eclipse is a rare opportunity to hear long distance stations during the daytime. AM radio stations which normally cut their power back and/or run directional pattern at night will be running on their full daytime facilities. During the… Read More »
What makes the Internet so awesome? One major reason is that you can find anything about anyone online if you know how to search for the information. AmericanRadioHistory.com is a treasure trove of broadcasting history. Over 5 million pages of various radio and TV trade publications have been scanned and digitized. Among these is Radio… Read More »
Check out this antique radio station clock sign! My friend Wayne Wagner found it at Kilroy’s Slot Machine & Jukebox in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Wayne and I have been friends since first grade. We used to talk to each other on CB radio, waaaaay back when he was KGU-3859 the Minnesota Gopher and I was KADF-6895… Read More »
Throwback Thursday: July, 1986. Age 22. Today, we are live from the parking lot at KNAB AM/FM in Burlington, Colorado. This was my second time at this station, as evidenced by the fact that I am wearing a KWKR t-shirt. Photos are rare because I was only there for 6 weeks. When the boss threw… Read More »