If you have lived in the Midwest, specifically eastern Iowa, you have no doubt heard the voice of Roger King, news director, KOEL-AM (Oelwein, Iowa).
King started at KOEL in 1989 and was promoted to news director in 1999. He has been reporting the news to northeast Iowans for more than 30 years.
Prior to KOEL, King started out in the world of radio on August 16, 1977: the day Elvis died. He made the announcement at a very small radio station in Sauk City, Wisconsin.
From there, King and his wife, Lorna, moved back to his hometown of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where he worked as a radio disk jockey. In the early 1980s, he -- and his wife (and pets) -- accepted a morning jock position and news director at a station in Valley City, North Dakota (where the wind blows 24/7/365). Those winds pushed the King family back to northeast Iowa, where he became news director at KNEI in Waukon. They decided to stay in the area, and King was subsequently hired at KOEL in Oelwein.
In the news department, King has won numerous awards for his broadcasting skills from the Associated Press, where he was voted president of the AP’s broadcast news for the state of Iowa. When he isn’t hunting down a story, King likes to spend time with Lorna. They enjoy traveling and taking photographs. They became “empty nesters” after both of their daughters married their high-school boyfriends and settled (for now) close by in northeast Iowa. King plans to continue keeping listeners up-to-date with the latest in local and ag-related news.
