Radio legend Ed De La Hunt has died following a decades-long career of building and running radio stations in northern Minnesota.
Ed and Carol De La Hunt signed on KPRM (Park Rapids) in 1962, followed by numerous additional stations over the decades. De La Hunt died at home on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Besides local radio, De La Hunt’s family notes that he also believed in community connection.
“He’s instilled that into each and every one of us kids is ‘be community, be community, help your community, do some great things.’ And that’s what he did right until the end,” son Butch De La Hunt said during Monday’s “Coffeetime” program, which his father hosted for years.
De La Hunt worked in St. Paul, Thief River Falls, Brainerd, and Sheldon, Iowa, before building KPRM.
Butch De La Hunt noted that KPRM began broadcasting as soon as approval came from Washington, which happened to be in the middle of a basketball game. Photos of the station’s history are posted on the company’s website.
KPRM-FM signed on in 1967 followed by numerous other stations over the decades. De La Hunt upgraded many of the stations over the years, with KPRM moving from 1240 to 870 and eventually reaching 50kW daytime power.
In the 2000s, the family signed on two of the newest AM radio stations in Minnesota, WBKK/820 (Wilton) and KVKK/1070 (Verndale), which are now owned by other groups. De La Hunt also provided engineering services to other radio stations.
Ed and Carol De La Hunt were inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2006.
In 2021, Ed and Carol De La Hunt sold the company’s five stations to Butch and Tammy De La Hunt.
The company said De La Hunt’s 50s-60s program, recorded over the past two decades, will continue to air Sundays at 6 and 10 p.m.