R.I.P.: Pat Ebertz, Longtime Twin Cities Radio Personality

Pat Ebertz (1961-2023)

The Twin Cities radio community has been paying tribute to longtime host and consultant Pat Ebertz following his death.

Friends and family of Ebertz say that he passed away at his home on Christmas Day. He was 62, according to Bring Me The News.

Ebertz spent time co-hosting the Dave Ryan in the Morning Show on KDWB from 1993 to 2008. He also worked with The Tom Barnard Morning Show at KQRS.

Tributes to Ebertz describe a radio professional who stood out from other DJs by inquiring about the well-being of his audience, establishing genuine ties with listeners.

A graduate of the University of North Dakota in 1988, at the time of his death he was working as a marketing consultant for digital, radio and television at Hubbard Broadcasting.

He got his first radio job at age 14, working at a local Jamestown radio station KSJM FM under the name "Pat Shocker," broadcasting his own weekly Top 10 Countdown, and it was obvious that Pat loved having an audience, whether it was family members or peers. Pat attended the University of North Dakota, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 1987. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and began his next chapter in radio while in college at Grand Forks FM radio stations XL93, KLITE and Magic 96. 

In 1987, Pat and his brother Michael were the first twins ever to be accepted to the University of North Dakota School of Medicine. Pat attended medical school for two years, however, Pat realized his true passion was radio and went on to pursue and achieve a prolific career as an on-air radio personality that spanned nearly 3 decades. From the time he was a young boy, Pat always listened to the radio and had a passion to use his voice to entertain and inspire others, not to mention to make people laugh. This love, combined with Pat's creative genius and charisma, led to incredible opportunities in radio, most notably his co-hosting and producing of morning shows in Grand Forks, ND, Phoenix, AZ at POWER 92, Minneapolis and St. Cloud, MN. In 1993, Pat earned himself a spot on Minneapolis' KDWB station on the Dave Ryan morning show, where he remained a co-host and producer until 2002. 

During his career, Pat had many unique opportunities to meet and interview notable musicians, actors, celebrities and politicians. Occasionally Pat would be outrageous for the sake of his fans. A particularly memorable moment was when Pat crossed the railing at Niagara Falls to hold the phone up so that the KDWB listeners could hear the roar of the falls, which caused him to get arrested on air and made the front page of USA Today. His charisma made him the brightest part of the show and his on-air antics brought joy and laughter to countless listeners in many cities all throughout the country. In 2008, Pat decided to transition to radio marketing and sales, as a result of his desire to spend more time with his family. 

Pat had a very successful career in sales that began at Leighton Broadcasting in St. Cloud, and continued with Disney/KQRS in Minneapolis and most recently with Hubbard Broadcasting in Minneapolis with the Tom Barnard Show. 

During his sales career, Pat earned numerous sales awards that distinguished him from others. Pat's genuine love of meeting and making connections with others was the secret of his sales success. He enjoyed and excelled at cultivating relationships with a vast array of clients, who in most cases, ended up becoming like family members to Pat. Along with juggling the rigors of a fast paced sales career, Pat maintained a connection to radio as a weekly contributor to KSNI "Ox and Friends," a local political roundtable in St. Cloud that combined Pat's love of radio and political punditry.