Des Moines Radio: WHO Unveils New Morning Hosts

Retiring Host Van Harden with new Hosts Amy Sweet & Maxwell Shaeffer

For 34 years, Van Harden has  taken his seat in front of the mic at Des Moines' WHO 1040 AM radio at 5 a.m. each weekday for his four-hour drivetime show. For another 10 years, until 1984, he was an on-air personality at KRNT. And before that, he began broadcasting while still a student at Drake University. reports the Des Moines Register.

That voice is about to take a well-deserved rest retires Jan. 8. He follows his longtime on-air partner, Bonnie Lucas, who retired in March.

Taking their places will be Harden's regular substitute host, Maxwell Schaeffer, WHO's promotions and marketing director. Joining Schaeffer will be Amy Sweet, with whom Schaeffer was co-host for more than a dozen years of KIOA's morning show.

WHO has had plenty of time to assemble the new team. They joined Harden on the air one day this week as he recalled giving his notice. Appropriately for such a mainstay, it was not just the typical two weeks.

"It was Jan. 8 of 2020, this year, that I went into the boss' office and turned in my one-year notice," Harden said, adding that he thought he owed his longtime on-air home the extra time to figure out its next move. 

He said he chose the date because it would be 50 years to the day since he signed on at KDLS in Perry, his first station.

Although he said he declined to participate in the decision about who would replace him at WHO, he did offer some advice, emphasizing the importance of being "local, local, local" at a time when, on his station and many others, syndicated shows produced elsewhere make up much of the programming. 

"They need to love Iowa. They need to love Iowans," he said. "They need to be ingrained in the community. They need to be fascinated by current events, and they need to handle getting up very early in the morning."

On the air this week with Schaeffer and Sweet, the 68-year-old said he's confident the show will be in very good hand with his successors.