Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame

June Persons
2001 Charter Inductee

June Persons' schoolmates predicted she would one day become the first woman president of the United States. She has not been elected yet, but she has interviewed presidents on the radio. June entered broadcasting in 1941 at WEBC Duluth, acting in a locally produced daily situation comedy called "The Woman I Love." That is where she met Charles Persons, her husband to be, and also a member of the Hall of Fame. They were married in 1945. June and Charlie built WELY Ely in 1954. They operated the station for five years before selling and moving to California. They returned to Minnesota and eventually built another station, KVBR Brainerd, in 1964. They sold KVBR in 1982, bought it back in 1986, and finally retired in 1994. Besides her management work, she was also an important on-air figure at KVBR, and was known for her daily program "Frills and Fancies." She has interviewed countless celebrities, including President Ronald Reagan, Ginger Rogers, Art Linkletter, Don Ho, the great chefs of Europe, and even the famous TV dog Lassie, bringing the world to Minnesota listeners.