He “died suddenly.”
Dori Monson, the Puget Sound region’s longtime conservative radio host from “the mean streets of Ballard,” died Saturday night at a Seattle hospital, according to KIRO Newsradio. He was 61.
Monson hosted his highly rated three-hour show each weekday, and for many years had been a part of the Seahawks radio broadcast team and local sports.
KIRO Newsradio described him as a “longtime watchdog of government and social issues” and said the station is working to create on-air tributes.
A written statement from Bonneville International, which owns KIRO-FM, said Monson suffered a “cardiac event” at home Thursday and was hospitalized.
Monson attended the University of Washington and worked at KING-TV and KING Radio before joining KIRO in the early 1990s.
His energetic weekday show from noon to 3 p.m. regularly featured state politicians of both parties and a snappy review of news headlines he called “the fastest 15.” He was a persistent critic of Sound Transit and the Highway 99 tunnel. On any given afternoon, Monson’s show could be heard from boomboxes and parked vans at neighborhood housing construction sites.
ht/ joe6pack. jd hasty
We’ve linked to many stories by Monson over the years. He will be missed.
Sorry to hear that.
Bonneville still owns KIRO??
Good man.
Another younger person dying from heart issues…….had enough yet? Still getting your booster shots???
RIP
Never heard of him, but he sounds like one of the good guys.
Dori Monson was one of the most effective and unapologetic conservative voices in the Northwest. He was like that old joke “You know you’re having a bad day if 60 Minutes is waiting for you in the reception area.” If Monson picked up a progtard issue he spent amazing amounts of air time, interviewed all those knowledgeable about it, and gave an enormous voice to those who wouldn’t have been heard otherwise. I’m personally not a fan of talk radio, and I found Monson’s voice particularly annoying (I could never figure out how a NW boy ended up with a sort of “Valley” way of talking), but this is still very sad news. He was an honest and gracious man who always sought the truth. He will be missed.
Inslee and Fergie pleased with this. Both feared him.
His show was what all local talk radio should sound like, a good mix of hard hitting news that exposes the fraud in local Gov. and a lot of silly fun radio. His show was the highest rated local show in America,he had the chance to go national but turned it down because he loved working in the Seattle market where he thought he could do the most good. And he did.
Most of the the local Dem politicians would not come on his show because they feared him because he had the facts not the spin that they spun.
He leaves a large hole to fill in local news.
And yes he was vaxed but I can not say that he was boosted I don’t think he was.
Listened to him every day when I could.
Rest in peace Dori.
Forgot to add he was fired by the Seahawks because of one off hand comment about trans boys in girls sports.
AA is right, he did have a weird voice for a radio guy. I met him years ago during a Mariners Spring Training event. He seemed like a genuinely good guy. RIP Dori!
Mr. Monson was a unicorn among talk show hosts who built and maintained a market dominating audience and held it for decades. That is pretty well unheard of in the business. He was a non leftist in a deeply leftist city and area. It is true the big leftists feared his show and wouldn’t agree to on air discussion of the issues, which made them appear, rightly, weak. Local leftist cadres made repeated attempts to get him thrown off the air and the closest they got was the tranny comment, management wasn’t self destructive enough to fold and the advertisers held as well. He will be missed and I can’t imagine how he could be replaced.
That’s some sick thinking there, grouchy! It’s even sicker to put it in writing with your name and avatar to identify with some sense of certainty who the source is.