George Davison Iowa Law

Des Moines Radio Pesonality Dic Youngs Dies

One of the most familiar voices on Des Moines radio, Dic Youngs, dies following a long illness.  He was 68. 

"Youngsie" or the "Youngster" was one of the best "Top 40" disc jockeys in any market. 

KIOA, Des Moines, where Youngs spent over 40 years of his Des Moines broadcasting career has an excellent tribute.

Thanks, Dic.  It was always a pleasure to turn you on.

FORMER WHO ANNOUNCER ED REIMERS DEAD AT AGE 96

Ed Reimers is dead at age 96.  Reimers was known to many as the voice and embodiment of Allstate Insurance.  On television, the genial Reimers would hold out his hands and close the commercial with the words, "You're in good hands with Allstate."

Reimers was with WHO, Des Moines, for several years in the 1930s.  The story, as told by former President and another WHO alum, Ronald Reagan, is that the station had been advertising for an announcer. Reagan was a day late to the station.  He did not know of the advertisement.  As Reagan walked out of the station, he remarked, "How does one get to be a sports announcer."  Then station manager Peter MacArthur heard the comment, gave Reagan an audition, and that Saturday, he was in Iowa City to broadcast the Iowa-Minnesota football game.  Reagan would close his story about his good fortune by noting that it was Ed Reimers who got the announcing job, and to get it, he had to pass a very difficult test about names and procedures.

It was Reimers who helped Reagan learn the radio business.  Another Reagan story involving Reimers revolved around a station break.  Reagan and Reimers were in the announcer's booth.  Reimers gave a station break, "This is radio station WHO, Des Moines, Iowa."  A short time later, the President of Central Broadcasting, COL B.J. Palmer, walked in and discussed the merits of brevity.  COL Palmer noted that advertisers pay a lot of money for advertising.  He observed that folks listening could only get WHO on a radio receiver.  They knew WHO was a radio station.  COL Palmer said there was no need for the "this is".  He left, only to return shortly, and stated, there is only one Des Moines, so there is no need for Iowa.  As a result, the station break became, "WHO, Des Moines."

Reimers' handsome appearance, sincerity and believability landed him a role in one of the best loved episodes of the original Star Trek.  He played an admiral in "The Trouble with Tribbles".  There is a Star Trek outtake in which Reimers holds a tribble in his hands and states, "You're in good hands with tribbles."

Reimers was born in Moline, IL on October 26, 1912.  He died at his daugher's home in Saratoga Springs, NY.  In addition to his daughter, Kathryn R. Manning, Reimers is survived by two grandsons.

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On the Death of Walter Cronkite

Post-World War II broadcast journalism was dominated by Walter Cronkite.  Certainly, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley with the Huntley-Brinkley Report on NBC were important competitors.  But, when big news broke, or when there was a space mission, it was Walter Cronkite to whom many viewers tuned.

There are some important Iowa connections for Cronkite.  Prof. Jeff Stein at Wartburg College has created a web page showing the long association among and between Cronkite, the WMT stations in Cedar Rapids, and long-time WMT executive William B. Quarton.

Cronkite was born in St. Joseph, MO.  He also spent time in Kansas City before moving to Houston, TX.  He'd return to Kansas City and St. Joseph frequently.  And as an employee of United Press, Cronkite headed the Kansas City bureau.

As a young man growing up in Mercer, MO, the St. Joseph News Press and Gazette were the newspapers that were delivered to the house in the morning and in the evening.  I recall that any time Cronkite came to St. Joseph to visit relatives, it was a big story in the St. Joseph newspaper.

In Cronkite's autobiography, A Reporter's Life, he mentioned recreating football games using a wire service.  I believe that he was in Kansas City at KCMO at the time.  The line went dead.  To avoid going to music (which was the way that stations in the 1930s handled dead air issues), Cronkite kept recreating the game, having the teams go back and forth without any scoring.  Finally, the line came back up, and he was able to resume his "normal" recreation.

Cronkite mentioned in his autobiography that when Ronald Reagan became President of the United States, he heard Reagan tell a story that sounded vaguely familiar.  It was Reagan's class WHO Chicago Cubs tale of the wire dropping out, his telegraph operator Curley shaking his head, and sending Reagan a message that the wire was dead.  To avoid going to music, Reagan kept talking having the batter foul off one pitch after another.  I heard Reagan tell the story at the 50th Anniversary in April 1974 at WHO and have used the tale in several stories and programs that I have done about Ronald Reagan.  As the story came to the conclusion, Reagan confessed that he became worried that he'd have the batter foul off so many pitches that it would be a record.  The wire came back up, Reagan's telegraph operator started typing, and when Reagan got the slip of paper with the information to recreate the play, it turned out that the batter had grounded out to the short stop on the first pitch.

Reagan also had stories about a broadcast from Birdland Pool in Des Moines where he spent the entire 30 minutes on the NBC network describing everything except swimming.  That's because officials were in an argument over some rules.  Several minutes after Reagan went off the air, his story was several records were set.  And then, at the Drake Relays, Reagan was sharing time on the NBC network with the Penn Relays.  It came time for the feature race at the Drake Relays.  Reagan had the whole network for what he hoped would be an exciting broadcast.  The President of Drake University comes into the booth just as the race begins and extends a greeting to the broadcast audience while the race is underway.  Reagan claimed the first instant replay.  He described the race as he recalled it, and as a coda he advised the listening audience that there was little crowd noise because they were stunned by the performance on the track below.

I shared the Reagan stories with Cronkite, and he very kindly replied with a written letter.

One more story about recreating an event for broadcast.  I was working at KTTN, Trenton, MO, and my fall assignment was to cover the Princeton, MO, high school football team.  The year before the Tigers had gone to the state champtionships, and 1969 had good prospects.  The Tigers won all of their conference and non-conference games.  They qualified for the state tournament, and they were scheduled to play Smithville at Northwest Missouri State Univeristy in Maryville.  Just before halftime the Tigers were driving to the goal line.  Smithville put up a furious defense.  Princeton scored with some power running.  The problem was, the tape recorder was not working properly (KTTN was a 500 watt daytime station.  The game was on a Saturday.  KTTN was carrying University of Missouri football live.)  Solution to the problem, was to recreate the plays and the description.  Frankly, the recreation sounded better, because I knew what I was going to say, and so did my color commentator.  Crowd noise was not a problem because the press box where we were working was enclosed, and the windows could not be opened.

Walter Cronkite has left a wonderful legacy.  His style based upon getting the facts, reporting them as accurately as possible, and then, letting the reader or listener make up his or her mind is the goal standard for reporters. 

Thanks Uncle Walter.  It was great to watch you as a young man.  It was inspiring to get to know you better, if only through your autobiography and one letter.  It has been a lot of fun to share great moments in history with you, not only as a viewer and a listener, but also as a fellow reporter.

ELIOT KELLER INDUCTED INTO IOWA BROADCASTERS HALL OF FAME

My good friend and long-time colleague, Eliot Keller, has been honored by the Iowa Broadcasters Association with induction into the organization's Hall of Fame. 

Keller, and his partner, Rob Norton, founded, constructed and operated for many years, KRNA-FM, Iowa City, Iowa.  They put KRNA on the air at a time when many in the industry questioned their sanity and whether a stand-along FM station in Iowa City would survive.  It did, and what happened at KRNA-FM helped many in the business to recognize that a well run, stand alone FM could be profitable.  Several years ago, an offer for KRNA-FM was made that could not be refused.  The station was sold and is now owned by Cumulus Media.

Today, Keller and Norton head KZIA,Inc., which owns and operates KZIA-FM and KGYM (AM) in Cedar Rapids.  Here is a news release from KZIA, Inc. about Keller's induction into the Iowa Broadcasters Hall of Fame:

KZIA, Inc. (KZIA Z102.9 and  KGYM-AM 1600 ESPN Radio, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City) President and General Manager Eliot A. Keller was inducted into the Iowa Broadcasters Association (IBA) Hall of Fame today at its Annual Summer Convention in West Des Moines. The award was presented by IBA President Rick Sellers from KMRY-AM and accepted by Rob Norton, executive vice president of KZIA, Inc. 

 

The IBA Hall of Fame Award is presented to an Iowan, not necessarily a broadcaster, who has made a lasting and significant contribution to his or her community, the state of Iowa and the broadcast industry. Keller and Norton have each previously been named Broadcaster of the Year by the IBA, in 2001 and 2004 respectively. 

 

Keller has been a radio broadcaster in Iowa for more than four decades. He was one of the founders of KRNA 94.1 and ran it from 1974 to 1998. He oversaw many of the precedent-setting activities of the operation, including a multitude of community service projects, and many trend-setting technical innovations and accomplishments. Keller has been general manager of Z102.9 and its predecessors since 1994.

 

Keller has been active in local chambers of commerce and community economic development organizations throughout his career. He has also been a long-time advocate for transportation infrastructure improvements, including enhanced passenger train service.

 

The IBA is comprised of radio and television stations working to promote, protect and enhance free, over-the-air broadcasting.

 

KZIA Z102.9, a 100,000-watt radio station in Cedar Rapids broadcasting Today’s Hits at 102.9 MHz to the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. Z102.9 was the first station in Iowa to broadcast HD Radio® (terrestrial digital radio). Z102.9 was also the first station in the state to broadcast HD Radio® multicasting, supplemental audio channels available free to listeners with a second-generation HD Radio® radio. These channels include 102.9-1 KZIA Z102.9 Today’s Hits, 102.9-2 HD-2 Classic Rock and 102.9-3 KGYM 1600 ESPN. KZIA is the only locally-owned commercial FM broadcast station in the Corridor and KGYM is one of only three locally-owned commercial AM stations in the Corridor. KZIA Z102.9 is at www.kzia.com on the Internet. KGYM-AM 1600 ESPN is a 5,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting sports talk. It is on the Internet at www.1600ESPN.com. Both are owned by KZIA, Inc. (an Iowa corporation).

In addition to his broadcasting acumen, Keller has actively supported and promoted development of a passenger train network in the state of Iowa, serving as excursion chair for the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers (IARP).

Summer Broadcasting Camps at Wartburg College in Waverly

There may have been a summer camp such as the one held at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, way back when I was in high school (in the mid-1960s), but I never knew about it.  My guess is there was not one.  My high school broadcasting experiences and training included recording a twice weekly sports program for KXEO, Mexico, Missouri, calling in sports scores from high school football and basketball games to KXEO, and doing some "stringer" work for KTTN, Trenton, Missouri.

My good friend, Jeff Stein, professor at Wartburg College in Waverly, has sent information about the Iowa Broadcasters Association summer broadcasting camps.  It is a great way for high school students to get some real, hands on experiences.  Here's the information Jeff sent me:

Wartburg Summer Broadcasting Workshop Fact Sheet

 

Sponsored by the Iowa Broadcasters Association and the Wartburg College Communication Arts Department

 Two separate, identical weeks:

Monday, July 20 through Friday, July 24

Monday, July 27 through Friday, July 31

 Cost is $225, which includes all meals and housing

 Limited to the best 16 high school students each week

 Eligibility: those who have just completed 8^th grade, through those who have just graduated from high school (12^th grade)

 Information and registration forms are on line at www.JeffStein.org and www.IowaBroadcasters.com (scroll down and click on the “workshop” logo)

 This is the 11^th year of the workshop at Wartburg; was previously held at Iowa State University but was moved to Wartburg in 1999 under the direction of Dr. Jeff Stein, R.J. McElroy Chair & Executive-in-Residence in Communication Arts

 Program has been nationally recognized as the only one of its kind in America

 Program has expanded to also include a workshop for high school teachers and another for advanced high school students; interested persons may contact me directly for information about the teachers workshop, which does qualify for continuing education/certification credit

 Students will not only learn in classroom settings and tour area radio and television stations, but will also themselves go live on our radio (KWAR-FM) and television (Wartburg Television) stations…both our radio and television outlets also stream on the internet, so folks back home can hear/see the high school students live

 Students from not only the Midwest states (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin) attend; we have also had students from New York, California, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, and other states.  More than 250 different students have graduated from the program over time

 High school students get to work with college student counselors to maximize their experience

 Contact information for Dr. Jeff Stein:

jeff.stein@wartburg.edu

319-352-8534 / 800-772-2085, ext. 8534

WHO Radio Celebrates 85th Anniversary

WHO, Des Moines, signed on the air on April 10, 1924.  WHO was the child of the President of Banker's Life, the Des Moines-based insurance company now known as, The Principal.  George Kuhns was an avid fan of radio.  Kuhns was a DXer, meaning that he searched for radio signals, especially at night when AM signals can travel great distances.

During the time that Banker's Life owned the station, it was identified as, "This is W-H-O.  Who?  Banker's Life, Des Moines."  The song, Who, from the musical "Sunny" was also used to identify the station.

The original WHO studios were on the top floor of the Liberty Building in downtown Des Moines.  Two towers on the roof of the building supported a wire Marconi antenna.  WHO started with 500 watts of power on the frequency of 570 Khz (at the time, the term megacycles was used).  It was allowed to increase power to 5,000 watts in 1925.  In 1928, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) ordered WHO to move to 1000 Khz and to share the frequency with WOC, Davenport.  This arrangement resulted in B.J. Palmer and his associates, who owned WOC, purchasing WHO from Banker's Life in 1930.  Attempts were made to continue the shared time operation under common ownership. 

On April 23, 1933, WHO-WOC put into operation a 50,000 watt transmitter on the clear channel frequency of 1000 Khz.  All operations were consolidated in Des Moines in May 1933.  A "new" WOC would be created operated by the Palmer interests with the acquisition of another station and its move to Davenport.  WHO moved to its current frequency of 1040 Khz in 1941 as part of a reorganization of the AM frequencies ordered by the Federal Communications Commission. 

WHO was, and still is, identified as the 50,000 watt clear channel voice of the middle west.

To mark the 85th Anniversary, WHO, in cooperation with the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting and Wartburg College, is streaming special programming marking the station's 50th Anniversary.  The link to the audio stream can be found on the WHO Radio web site.

A Des Moines Memory of Paul Harvey

Former WHO newscaster Vern Modeland shares the following Paul Harvey story:

Paul Harvey is gone. While I didn't agree with all his reportage, I do recall some fond memories of him, both personal and "as told to."

It is the "as told to" that brings him back to mind. Harvey was a much sought after convention and dinner speaker on current affairs and motivational subjects.

But, for Des Moines area fans, I recall an anecdote told to me by Claire Grant when he was manager of KCBC radio in the 1950s. KCBC was an ABC network affiliate then. And Claire told of a time when Harvey was to speak in Des Moines. He would be in town long enough to need to have a place to originate his morning newscasts. As Claire told it, this resulted in a forwarded list of "Mr. Harvey's needs" in order that he be properly prepared to give his listeners the days news as he saw it. His office requested copies of the day's newspapers be supplied as well as access to the news wire teletypes for their content. And, he would need space to prepare, supplies such as coffee and snacks, a reservation at the best hotel, etc., etc.

Claire took this all in and shared it with the rest of the staff of KCBC, which then originated from a nice little, and I mean little, one story building out west at about 20-something Ingersoll Ave.  They all got a chuckle out of the Harvey staff thinking the station even had a news wire machine, which it didn't. Nor suitable office space and a "lounge" stocked with real food and drink. It was deemed appropriate for Claire to fire off a response to Mr. Harvey's Chicago-based staff. He did. He recalled the reply as promising that KCBC would try to find copies of such newspapers as the Wall St. Journal and New York Times and Chicago Tribune on the day they were published. But, that would be hard, you see, in a "little town" like Des Moines which didn't exactly see  urgency in the days news the way Paul Harvey did.  Clair did assure Harvey's secretary that a reservation had been confirmed at the local
hotel down the street that had a nice bathroom on each and every floor.

You get the idea. They pulled his chain good. And it resulted in a hurry-up call, Claire related, to be sure this KCBC group were really going to be able to meet the great broadcaster's customary wants and needs for originating newscasts as necessary from Des Moines while he was in town.

Claire Grant also was a car enthusiast with a vintage Model T touring car that ran.  So, when the day arrived that Paul Harvey came to town, Claire met him up at the airport in the Model T. Clair recalled with an inner glow the arrival of the celebrity newscaster coming down Fleur Drive from the airport to the Hotel Fort Des Moines in the back of that canvas-topped Ford tourer.

But, as Claire told it, Harvey was a good sport. He ended his newscast originating at KCBC by mentioning the wonderful reception and treatment he was given, closing with the comment that Claire Grant's KCBC had certainly made an impact on a star. "They reminded me, they again taught me,
humility," was the way Harvey put it to his  audience.

And that is the rest of the story as I recall it being shared after work one evening in that comfortable, warm and easy-going little local music and news station that was KCBC out west on Ingersoll Ave.

A coda: The Paul Harvey story as told by Vern Modeland is to the best of my knowledge accurate.  Bob Bunce, who owned and operated KCBC for a number of years shared a similar story about the needs of Mr. Harvey and the stations' response.  Bunce added that after one of Harvey's network broadcasts he was escorted to Bauder's Pharmacy at 38th and Ingersoll for home-made ice cream.  Harvey reportedly pronounced the ice cream "delicious". 

Jim Zabel Being Considered for National Radio Hall of Fame

Long time WHO Radio sports director and personality, Jim Zabel, is being considered for election to the National Radio Hall of Fame.  Here is a portion of the news release announcing Zabel's candidacy.

                                              

PRESS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Media Contact:

Wednesday, April 16, 2008                               Gina Loizzo MBC, 312-396-0103

 

NATIONAL RADIO HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES POSTHUMOUS INDUCTEES

 AND CLASS OF 2008 NOMINEES

. . .

LOCAL OR REGIONAL PIONEER

• Gary Burbank, born Billy Purser, he      began his radio career in the mid 1960s, he took the name Gary Burbank as      a tribute to radio and TV legend Gary Owens and his famous Laugh-In introduction formerly heard      on WLW/Cincinnati until the end of 2007. 
• Harry Kalas, made his major league debut in 1965 calling games for the Houston      Astros before being hired as "the voice      of the Philadelphia Phillies"      in 1971.
• Charlie Tuna, over 40 years in radio, one of the original DJ's at the legendary      KROQ and most recently hosted "Charlie Tuna in the Morning" on KBIG until      2007.
• Jim Zabel,      broadcasting on WHO/Des Moines for 62 years, he has served as "the voice of the Iowa Hawkeye's      football and basketball" teams.
  The national online balloting will begin on May 1^st and be monitored by Votenet, a highly respected online vote tabulating firm. Voting ends at midnight on July 15^th, after which results will be tabulated and ratified by the Steering Committee of the NRHOF.

Voting is free and open to the public as well as major radio industry leaders. However an online registration will be required.  Please visit www.radiohof.org to learn more. 

###

Zabel joined WHO Radio during World War II.  He was hired by WHO Radio News Director Jack Shelley and handled a number of different duties before becoming sports director. 

While Zabel is well known for his broadcasts of both Iowa football and basketball, he also covered Iowa State and Drake basketball, especially during the 1960s and 1970s.  He anchored the WHO Radio coverage of the Iowa Girls and Boys State Basketball Tournaments, as well as covering the final games for many years on television. 

As WHO sports director, Zabel anchored television sports coverage for Channel 13 in Des Moines.  At one time he had one of the highest recognition factors in the industry.

He hosted a locally produced bowling program, Let's Go Bowling.  It originated from various bowling alleys in the Des Moines area and pitted a team of Des Moines residents against competitors from Central Iowa.  At one time, Let's Go Bowling had better ratings than professional football in the Des Moines television market.   The program was on Channel 13 television for close to 30 years.

In addition to his sports coverage, Zabel is considered an excellent interviewer.  On WHO Radio he was one of the personalities who handled a series of programs known as Speaking of People.  These were interviews with well known individuals, including Ronald Reagan.  During the mid-1960s and through the 1970s, Zabel was host of an afternoon telephone talk show in WHO Radio, Call Jim Zabel.  It was mix of a little bit of everything, but especially reciepts from his listeners.  Zabel eventually took the receipts and published them in a cookbook entitled Jim Zabel's Pink Apron Cookbook. 

IOWA BROADCASTING PIONEER, WILLIAM B. QUARTON, DEAD AT AGE 104

William B. Quarton was born in Algona, the son of an Iowa district court judge.  He died on Sunday, August 19, 2007, at age 104.

Quarton’s success is legendary.  He spent one year at the University of Iowa.  In the early 1920s, he traveled to Washington, D.C. and was a member of the civil service for four years.  Then, he moved to New York City, where he joined General Electric.  Quarton was with the firm during the last three years of Thomas Edison’s life.

In 1931, his brother Sumner called and asked that Quarton come to Cedar Rapids to manage station KWCR.  The Cowles family acquired WMT (which was then located in Waterloo) and returned the station to its original city of license, Cedar Rapids.  KWCR became WMT with Quarton continuing as manager (In a complex transaction, the license for KWCR was moved to Des Moines where it become the second Cowles station in the capital city.  KSO, the first Cowles station was moved to the KWCR frequency, and KRNT signed on in the mid-1930s to the original KSO frequency.). 

Under Quarton’s leadership, the reputation of WMT increased.  WMT became a leader in news and farm programming in the eastern part of the state.  The WMT signal, 5,000 watts at 600 MHZ, blanketed eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

With the advent of television, Quarton laid the foundation and helped to sign on WMT-TV, Channel 2 (now KGAN-TV).  For years, WMT-TV dominated eastern Iowa with its news and weather coverage.

At one time Quarton and others owned KWMT, Fort Dodge, IA, as well as WEBC, Duluth, MN.

Quarton retired from the WMT stations in 1968.  He continued to be active in business.  Quarton and business partner Lew Van Nostrand obtained cable television franchises in 15 Iowa cities.  They sold the franchises in 1983 for $22 million in cash and stock.  In 1981, he sold his interest in the WMT stations.

Then, in the late 1980s, Quarton’s attention turn to civil and philanthropic activities, including the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Coe College where he endowed a chair in the department of business and economics, and the board of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.  He created the William B. Quarton International Writing Program Scholarship at the University of Iowa.  In August 2003, Quarton Place which is a housing complex for low-income working families in Cedar Rapids, was opened, and Quarton also made a major gift to launch the Community Health Free Clinic.

The broadcasting legacy of William Quarton is honored by the Iowa Broadcasters Association in the Quarton-McElroy/IBA Scholarship awarded annually to five students interested in pursuing careers in radio and television.

ROBERT GIFFORD, WHO RADIO PROGRAM DIRECTOR, DIES

The man who led WHO, Des Moines, into the talk radio era dies at age 80.  The obituary for Robert Gifford is published in the Des Moines Register. 

Gifford came to WHO to be radio programming director in 1964.  With him came a number of changes, including a new morning man, Don Warren.  Warren had been with Gifford at WOC, Davenport.

More importantly, Gifford created a number of new talk programs on WHO.  From 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM, Monday through Friday, Phone Forum was the featured program.  In the beginning, the program was hosted by two very unlikely talk show hosts:  Duane Ellet and Lee Kline.  Ellet was well known and highly regarded as a children's television program host which featured a puppet he'd created, Floppy, the dog, as well as a singer, and a man who created literally a thousand voices and characters.  Kline was a member of the WHO Farm Department and was recognized for his interviews.  Phone Forum had a seven second delay, created by a continuous loop of audio tape, to prevent any profane or improper material from being broadcast.   After several years on Phone Forum, Kline requested to leave so that he could, again, concentrate on his duties in the Farm Department (increased in part by the retirement of long-time WHO Farm Director Herb Plambeck).  Kline was replaced by WHO announcer Bob Williams.  Later on the daughter of Des Moines Register and Tribune columnist Gordon Gammack, Julie, took the reigns of Phone Forum.

For the early afternoon audience on WHO, Gifford created Call Jim Zabel, a telephone talk show that featured WHO Sports Director Jim Zabel.  The program starting at 1:00 PM.  Call Jim Zabel was an ecclectic mix of events of the day, sports and receipts.  The program allowed Zabel to demonstrate his broad range of knowledge and interests.  The receipts he collected from listeners found their way into several editions of the Jim Zabel Pink Apron Cookbook.  Many days Duane Ellet would be the control board operator/announcer for Zabel's program.  When things were slow, Zabel would field a call from Maurice Chevrolet, Paddy O' Furniture or another of the characters and voices created by Ellet.

Evening programming on WHO did not miss the Gifford touch.  He added Clear Channel Conversation which took advantage of the 50,000 watt clear channel signal of WHO, especially during the winter months.  Clear Channel Conversation was hosted during its lifetime by a number of individuals including Del Ulmer, Roy Fox and Joe Lombardo.

In addition to Clear Channel Conversation, WHO added Minnesota Twins baseball play-by-play during the evenings and weekends of the baseball season.  The WHO signal gave the Twins a significant advantage in the "battle" for listeners in the middle west.  The Twins at that time were originated by another 50,000 watt clear channel station, WCCO, Minneapolis, MN.

During the winter months, WHO broadcast not only Iowa Hawkeye basketball, but also Iowa State and Drake games.  This was in the era before colleges and universities entered into exclusive broadcast contracts for their sports teams.  On occasions there were split broadcasts or double headers with Zabel at the microphone for the Iowa game and Mike Newell handling either the Iowa State or Drake contest.  Salesman Bob Earle would also handle some of the play-by-play duties.

"From coast to coast, border to border, and then, some......"  Gifford brought to WHO country music  disc jockey Mike Hoyer who presided over Country Music USA during the 1960s and early 1970s.  Hoyer was followed by Billy Cole in the overnight program that beamed country music across the country.  Country Music USA was especially popular with truck drivers in the upper midwest because of the strong signal of WHO.  Members of the United States Air Force on board the "Looking Glass" airplane were also known to listen to the program.  On several occasions there were requests to the station for a particular song from personnel on board "Looking Glass".

Gifford retired from WHO in 1984.  For another decade he continued to work in radio as the weather reporter for country music station, KJJY.  His on the air name was "Storm Kennedy".