R.I.P: Minnesota Broadcaster Bill Linder

Bill Linder

Willmar, MN Broadcaster Bill Linder has died.  He was 92, according to wctrib.com.

Harris Willard Linder Jr., named after his father and known to most as Bill, could trace his involvement in radio back to 1940, when his parents, Harris Sr. and Irene Linder, moved to Willmar to establish KWLM Radio.

Bill, then a student at the University of Minnesota, was pressed into service as an announcer for the fledgling radio station. Bill’s father sold advertising and his mother ran the office, Steve Linder said. “My dad did everything else out of necessity.”

After a stint in the U.S. Navy as a radio and radar instructor, Linder rejoined the family business which also included his brother, Don Linder. Over the next couple of decades the Linder family established KMHL Radio in Marshall, KDMA in Montevideo, KWLM-FM (now KQIC) in Willmar and KMHL-FM in Marshall.

The Linders also started the franchising agreement that brought Muzak to west central Minnesota through a KWLM subcarrier.

Bill Linder’s contributions to Minnesota broadcasting were recognized within the industry. He was on the board of directors of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association and became a charter inductee in the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2001.

Community giving and service were important parts of Bill's life, serving and giving to many charitable organizations in the Willmar area. The Willmar Area Community Foundation awarded him and his family it's Award in Philathropy in 2010. We will miss Bill. His funeral will be 3:00 pm, Sunday, October 6^th at Bethel Lutheran Church in Willmar. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3-6 pm Saturday at Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar and continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Sunday.

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