Harry Linder

Harry Linder got a late start in radio, but that did not stop him from becoming one of Minnesota’s most successful broadcasters. Born in Minneapolis in 1892, he worked in various businesses until 1940, when, at the age of 48, he decided to find the largest town in Minnesota that did not yet have a radio station, and start one there. The town was Willmar, and the station he founded there was KWLM. The city quickly saw the value that radio’s instant communication and information could provide in a rural area, especially after the station’s important service during the Armistice Day blizzard of November 11, 1940. He went on to build other stations throughout the state, including KMHL Marshall, KDMA Montevideo, KTOE Mankato, and KLGR Redwood Falls. Throughout his career he was active in community and fraternal affairs, and was recognized by his peers for his pioneering achievements in showing the importance of small market radio to rural Minnesota and rural America.

Harry Linder passed away, at the age of 87, on January 15, 1980.