Radio station honors Citizen of Day for 46 years
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2007
LE MARS, Iowa -- For 46 years, KLEM Radio in Le Mars has honored a Citizen of the Day. President Bush earned the award when he visited Le Mars Nov. 3.
The Citizen of the Day is feted with a flower from Le Mars Flower House, pizza at Pizza Hut, a movie or game rental from Jo's Movie House and a car wash from Easy Clean Car Wash in town.
I'm not sure if the president ate pizza locally, rented a movie or had his limousine waxed. His Citizen of the Day flower got to him prior to his speech. The florists told me so.
First, a little about this honor which dates back to at least Sept. 7, 1961, the earliest record we found of a local "Name of the Day" printed on a news sheet radio staffers assembled for distribution to Le Mars restaurants. On that day in 1961, Bernie Madsen was the "Name of the Day." For the honor, Madsen received a family pass to the Royal Theatre.
"Paul Olson took over the station in July 1961 and he probably started the Person of the Day in September," says Dave Ruden, operations manager at KLEM-AM 1410.
The two-sided news sheet, now called the "Hot Line," features headlines and a couple of paragraphs of the morning's top news, plus scores of local and national games played the previous night. Olson brought the printed newsy concept with him from a station in Ohio, Ruden figures.
"Paul liked to carry the news sheet with him to the local restaurants, because it was good public relations," says Ruden.
The "Hot Line" is not a revenue producer, Ruden adds. Its six display ads probably don't cover the cost of printing and distributing 262 sheets to 20 local restaurants. The "Hot Line" probably stayed when Powell Broadcasting purchased KLEM in 1999 because of its PR worth.
Ask Karen DeRocher, who remembers when she was KLEM's Citizen of the Day in 1972.
"I was working as a receptionist at Floyd Valley Hospital," she says. "It was a big deal. I got a flower and didn't even know Ken then!"
Ken is Ken Nelson, owner of Le Mars Flower House. He's been giving a corsage or a boutonniere to the Person of the Day every day for the past 37 years. That's when he bought the flower house from Jean and Floyd Blakley.
DeRocher is now engaged to Nelson. Together, they operate the flower house and adjacent greenhouse along old Highway 75 on the south edge of town.
For 37 years Nelson has been honoring his town's Citizen of the Day with a flower? By my count, that adds up to nearly 12,000 flowers.
"It's excellent exposure for us," he says.
They tried to maximize the exposure by giving President Bush a rose on his special day here in the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Nelson and DeRocher didn't attend the Bush speech, but they sent the rose with then-Rep. Ralph Klemme, who got the rose backstage to Bush or his people.
"The Secret Service agents said he couldn't wear it due to security concerns," DeRocher reports. "They said flowers like this could contain some kind of substance."
So, the Citizen of the Day flower didn't clear security. It might have looked a bit out of place anyway, since Bush that day sported a casual look, not the suit and tie he often wears.
There are other Citizens of the Day who, like Bush, don't take the couple up on their free flower offer. They're a scant few. Most honorees stop in on the big day, or a bit later. They tell Ken or Karen they were KLEM's Citizen of the Day and they receive a corsage or a boutonniere.
"If they're not going out on the town, they can get a long-stem carnation instead and put it in a vase," DeRocher says.
The Citizen of the Day featuring Bush wasn't Nelson's first brush with presidential greatness. He managed Eicher Florist in Iowa City in October 1964 when former President Herbert Hoover died. Nelson worked 2 1/2 days straight arranging flowers, including the memorial wreath, for Hoover's funeral at nearby West Branch.
Six years later Nelson ventured to Le Mars and has been a fixture at the Flower House since. He's also been a city councilman the past 10 years. When he's not delivering flowers all around the Le Mars area, he's studying the future of his community and talking up the virtues of Siouxland and Plymouth County.
Nelson must be good. He's been KLEM's Citizen of the Day. Twice!
Who decides?
Sue Brandenburg, an administrative assistant at KLEM Radio in Le Mars, keeps track of the Citizen of the Day honors. People do not repeat within a three-year period. Nominations are phoned, e-mailed or mailed to her and other KLEM staff members.
The Citizen of the Day is feted with a flower from Le Mars Flower House, pizza at Pizza Hut, a movie or game rental from Jo's Movie House and a car wash from Easy Clean Car Wash in town.
I'm not sure if the president ate pizza locally, rented a movie or had his limousine waxed. His Citizen of the Day flower got to him prior to his speech. The florists told me so.
First, a little about this honor which dates back to at least Sept. 7, 1961, the earliest record we found of a local "Name of the Day" printed on a news sheet radio staffers assembled for distribution to Le Mars restaurants. On that day in 1961, Bernie Madsen was the "Name of the Day." For the honor, Madsen received a family pass to the Royal Theatre.
"Paul Olson took over the station in July 1961 and he probably started the Person of the Day in September," says Dave Ruden, operations manager at KLEM-AM 1410.
The two-sided news sheet, now called the "Hot Line," features headlines and a couple of paragraphs of the morning's top news, plus scores of local and national games played the previous night. Olson brought the printed newsy concept with him from a station in Ohio, Ruden figures.
"Paul liked to carry the news sheet with him to the local restaurants, because it was good public relations," says Ruden.
The "Hot Line" is not a revenue producer, Ruden adds. Its six display ads probably don't cover the cost of printing and distributing 262 sheets to 20 local restaurants. The "Hot Line" probably stayed when Powell Broadcasting purchased KLEM in 1999 because of its PR worth.
Ask Karen DeRocher, who remembers when she was KLEM's Citizen of the Day in 1972.
"I was working as a receptionist at Floyd Valley Hospital," she says. "It was a big deal. I got a flower and didn't even know Ken then!"
Ken is Ken Nelson, owner of Le Mars Flower House. He's been giving a corsage or a boutonniere to the Person of the Day every day for the past 37 years. That's when he bought the flower house from Jean and Floyd Blakley.
DeRocher is now engaged to Nelson. Together, they operate the flower house and adjacent greenhouse along old Highway 75 on the south edge of town.
For 37 years Nelson has been honoring his town's Citizen of the Day with a flower? By my count, that adds up to nearly 12,000 flowers.
"It's excellent exposure for us," he says.
They tried to maximize the exposure by giving President Bush a rose on his special day here in the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Nelson and DeRocher didn't attend the Bush speech, but they sent the rose with then-Rep. Ralph Klemme, who got the rose backstage to Bush or his people.
"The Secret Service agents said he couldn't wear it due to security concerns," DeRocher reports. "They said flowers like this could contain some kind of substance."
So, the Citizen of the Day flower didn't clear security. It might have looked a bit out of place anyway, since Bush that day sported a casual look, not the suit and tie he often wears.
There are other Citizens of the Day who, like Bush, don't take the couple up on their free flower offer. They're a scant few. Most honorees stop in on the big day, or a bit later. They tell Ken or Karen they were KLEM's Citizen of the Day and they receive a corsage or a boutonniere.
"If they're not going out on the town, they can get a long-stem carnation instead and put it in a vase," DeRocher says.
The Citizen of the Day featuring Bush wasn't Nelson's first brush with presidential greatness. He managed Eicher Florist in Iowa City in October 1964 when former President Herbert Hoover died. Nelson worked 2 1/2 days straight arranging flowers, including the memorial wreath, for Hoover's funeral at nearby West Branch.
Six years later Nelson ventured to Le Mars and has been a fixture at the Flower House since. He's also been a city councilman the past 10 years. When he's not delivering flowers all around the Le Mars area, he's studying the future of his community and talking up the virtues of Siouxland and Plymouth County.
Nelson must be good. He's been KLEM's Citizen of the Day. Twice!
Who decides?
Sue Brandenburg, an administrative assistant at KLEM Radio in Le Mars, keeps track of the Citizen of the Day honors. People do not repeat within a three-year period. Nominations are phoned, e-mailed or mailed to her and other KLEM staff members.
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