Longtime Radio Legend Mike Simonson Dies

SUPERIOR - The Northland was remembering longtime radio journalist Mike Simonson on Monday after passing away at his home early Sunday.For nearly 25 years, Simonson was the news director at KUWS and a reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio.He was also a champion and mentor for up-and-coming young journalists at UW-Superior."He set a pretty high bar and he had a great deal of personal pride in maintaining his own standards and passing those on to the next generation of reporters," said John Munson, Northern Regional Manager at Wisconsin Public Radio.Late Monday night, Simonson's wife, Jennifer, released details on her Facebook about funeral arrangements."A memorial service for Mike Simonson will be held this Saturday at 11am at Our Savior's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4831 Grand Avenue. A visitation will be held Friday from 5pm to 7pm at the church and again on Saturday from 10 to 11am. A lunch will follow."–Jennifer SimonsonThe cause of death was not known Monday.Below is the official statement from WPR:Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is sad to announce the death of our longtime friend and colleague, reporter Mike Simonson. Mike joined WPR in 1990, the first reporter in the then newly-opened bureau in Superior. "It's a profound loss," noted WPR Director Mike Crane. "Mike covered the northwoods like no one else for nearly 25 years. He was a wonderful influence on all of us, and on so many other people. It's really hard to imagine that we will stop hearing his expressive voice on WPR. He will be missed by colleagues and listeners for a long time to come," he added.For WPR News Director Michael Leland, Mike Simonson was a tireless reporter equally talented in covering hard news and lighter stories. "He also had a knack for spotting and developing reporting talent in young people," Leland said. "WPR has hired two of his former students in recent years," he continued. "And in a deadline-driven business that can be very stressful, Mike was almost always in good humor. We've lost not only a gifted reporter, mentor, and colleague, but also a good friend," Leland concluded.Mike Simonson was born in Duluth, MN, where he attended Denfeld High School and was active in the school paper, before attending UW-Superior where his love of journalism grew. From his earliest days at KDAL-AM in Duluth, through a short stint in Georgia and North Carolina, to his tenure with WPR, Mike's work regularly received regional and national recognition. His 2012 radio documentary, "Forever Ace: The Richard Bong Story," on the life of the Wisconsin World War II hero, won a National Headliner award and an Associated Press award. The program was the result of more than ten years of interviews by Mike and his WPR colleagues."Journalism wasn't just a job for Mike," said Superior Regional Manager John Munson, "it was a passion. He felt a deep responsibility to find and tell the stories of the people of Northern Wisconsin." Mike came back in the middle of a vacation to provide non-stop (and nationally award-winning) coverage when a railroad car full of benzene crashed into the Nemadji River in 1992. And, when NASA astronaut and Wisconsin-native Col. Jeffrey Williams was launched into space from Kazakhstan, Mike was so intent on covering the story that he flew to the remote Central Asian nation at his own expense to be there.According to Munson, when it came to covering the news, compromise was not a word in Mike Simonson's vocabulary. "He was dogged and courageous in his questioning of local and national figures alike," he noted. This commitment extended to the students he mentored over the years, many who won awards during their time with him and went on to their own successful careers in journalism."It is safe to say that over the past 25 years no one has spent more time telling the stories of Northern Wisconsin than Mike Simonson and it isn't likely that anyone ever will again. We're really going to miss him," Munson concluded.