Midwest Communications Founder Duke Wright Dies at 83

Duey “Duke” Wright, founder and president of Midwest Communications, has died at the age of 83.

The news was reported by Midwest’s WTAQ (Green Bay) and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

Wright was respected in the industry for his love of broadcasting and commitment to quality local radio. He was inducted into he Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Polka Hall of Fame, and the Wisconsin Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and named one of “Radio’s 40 Most Powerful People” by Radio Ink magazine for the last nine years in a row.

“I’ve had a lot of fun as a broadcaster. I can’t think of a business that’s more fun. You get a little bit of showbiz, you get a little bit of the technical stuff, you get a little bit of management experience and news,” Wright said in an interview for his WBA Hall of Fame induction.

Over his 64-year radio career, Wright built an organization that the WBA says is now the largest-ever broadcasting company ever based in Wisconsin.

Wright and his parents bought WRIG/1400 (Wausau) in 1958, launching a Top 40 format. Later, Wright founded Midwest with the launch of WROE/94.3 (Neenah-Menasha-Appleton) in 1971. The company grew and eventually bought Wright’s biggest local competitor, WSAU/550 (Wausau).

Of the purchase after years of intense competition, Wright said in the WBA interview, “I walked in there and I thought, ‘all these years, I’m finally here!'”

Now, Midwest has more than 80 stations in 18 markets stretching from North Dakota to Tennessee. In the Upper Midwest, its markets include Appleton, Green Bay, Sheboygan, Wausau, Duluth, Hibbing, Fargo, and Sioux Falls.

Appropriately, several of the stations are branded as “Duke FM.”

Three of Wright’s four children work for the company, which is headquartered in a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building in Wausau that was originally constructed as a home for Wright’s parents.

A funeral service is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 29, in Green Bay.