The Good Life – January-February 2021

After successfully managing two companies together, Hallstrom and
Hennen are taking on another exciting challenge with their team: the
acquisition of WDAY radio (News-Talk 970 AM and 93.1 FM) and
creating a vision for its future. The partnership agreement went into
effect Nov. 9, 2020. According to the agreement, Flag Family Media
will fully operate the stations and exercise a buy option.
“I’m really lucky because I have a great partner in Scott who has done
so many of these things at other places,” Hallstrom said. “I think, I
dream, I pray for wisdom on how to do all of this, and I talk to Scott
and know he’s doing the same. The two of us really make a lot of the
decisions together.”
As the friends envision their strategy with the acquisition, Hallstrom
likes to do what he calls reverse engineering — visualizing and working
backwards from the point of success.
“What does it look like if WDAY and WZFG are just running at 100
percent efficiency, really vibrant, bold and energetic? What does that
look like and how do we get there? Who do we hire first? Who are the
partners in the community that can help us get there? Those are the
things that really drive me, and it’s the most fun part of my job.”
Although this partnership will create some changes for WDAY radio,
the network will still carry out their 98-year reputation of being a
reliable and timely source of news and information.
“What they have at WDAY as far as who they are isn’t going to change.
WDAY has always been synonymous with news,” Hallstrom said. “In
the radio world and our part of the world that means weather as well,
but it also means ag. When something happens with trade policy that
affects corn and soy farmers or sugar beet growers, that’s news too.
We want to do all that, but we think there’s a lot of untapped potential
with WDAY radio right now that we can grow into something that I
think we’re all going to be really proud of and excited about. It’s just
taking the good things and making them better.”
“I think what I enjoy the most
is building the organization
and figuring out the vision for
where we want to go.”
– Steve Hallstrom
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 21