Zyer, radio news icon, dies

BOURBONNAIS – While his face may not have been recognizable to the listening audience of much of the Kankakee and Iroquois counties region, his voice was never mistaken.

WVLI radio newsman and personality Ken Zyer died Saturday after a sudden illness in the Tampa, Florida, area where he had been living for the past several years. Zyer was 66.

Zyer started his local radio career in 1979 when he served as a DJ at WBYG, better known as the “The Bus.” He became the station’s news director in 1988.

From that point, the Columbia College in Chicago graduate worked in news. He transitioned to the upstart WVLI radio station in 1995 where he tag-teamed with longtime area radio personality Jim Brandt.

The pair worked side by side for many years.

Brandt recalled the great relationship the two men forged as they worked to bring the station into local prominence.

“We were kind of a team the whole time I was at the station,” Brandt said of his 24-year work relationship with Zyer.

“He could take your lead and entertain without taking over,” Brandt said Sunday afternoon. “I don’t think I would have been successful without him. We were a 50-50 team.”

Brandt noted the two men were born in 1959, but the similarities did not end there.

“We were both probably nerds in school. We definitely were not athletes. We both played in a school band and we both had two daughters,” he said.

Brandt also noted another odd similarity.

“We later learned the first single we ever purchased was Vanity Fare’s ‘Hitchin’ a Ride,‘ ” Brandt said.

He explained that oftentimes he and Zyer were like that old married couple. They would fight about something and then quickly turn around and laugh about it.

Brandt labeled Zyer’s death as “shocking.”

“It’s too soon,” he said.

He said Zyer, just like the late WKAN newsman Ed Munday, certainly had the talent to work in a radio market much larger than the Kankakee County-based WVLI.

“But he chose not to go to another area. ... His death is really sad. It’s heartbreaking.”

A trusted, respected voice

While he worked in Kankakee County, Zyer lived in the Frankfort area. He simply made the early morning commute a part of his daily ritual.

Tim Milner, now the executive chairman for Milner Media, watched as Zyer blossomed in his news role.

He said Zyer’s voice was trusted throughout the region. He noted there were times when Zyer could have been first on a major news story, but he sometimes delayed a report due to his dedication to making sure it was always correct.

He said his audience always appreciated his quest for accuracy.

“He had a great fondness for the people he served,” Milner said. He noted Zyer also had a Rolodex which was the envy of many due to the contact names and numbers it contained.

Zyer was able to amass such a collection of contacts, Milner said, because of his dedication to reporting stories correctly.

“The public trusted him. If the public heard it from Ken, they knew it was true,” Milner said.

Fellow WVLI newsman Mike Ruble, who worked alongside Zyer for 25 years, had difficulty putting into words Zyer’s passing.

“He could be opinionated, brash and even obnoxious, but you won’t find a man more dedicated to news broadcasting and radio,” Ruble said.

For the past several years, Zyer was stationed in Florida as he worked long-distance for WVLI.

Despite the distance, Ruble said Zyer was still very much a part of the news team.

“He loved being on the air. He was a news bloodhound,” Ruble said before pausing for a moment or two. “This is sad. It’s the passing of a legend. We’ve lost someone who is irreplaceable. You don’t replace talent like that.”

WVLI news director Rob Rodewald, better known on the air as Rob West, worked the past seven years with Zyer after transitioning from WKAN.

“It’s hard to replace that kind of experience. The radio newsperson is a disappearing breed,” he said. Finding one with as much experience and dedication as Zyer is even more difficult.

“This is simply a big loss.”