Friends, Colleagues Reflect After Longtime WPR Reporter’s Passing

Wisconsin Public Radio is sad to announce the death of longtime friend and colleague, reporter Mike Simonson.

Simonson joined WPR in 1990, the first reporter in the then newly-opened bureau in Superior.

For nearly 25 years, Simonson covered Northwest Wisconsin not only for local listeners, but also for those throughout Wisconsin. He kept on top of the important stories, like the recovery of U.S. Department of Defense ammunition barrels dumped into Lake Superior decades ago.

Simonson also brought smiles to listeners’ faces with lighter stories, like his April Fool’s Day tale this year about the entire population of Superior fleeing the extreme winter weather for a warmer climate.

“It’s a profound loss,” said Mike Crane, WPR director. “Mike covered the northwoods like no one else for nearly 25 years. He was a wonderful influence on all of us, and on so many other people. It’s really hard to imagine that we will stop hearing his expressive voice on WPR. He will be missed by colleagues and listeners for a long time to come.”

For Michael Leland, WPR news director, Simonson was a tireless reporter equally talented in covering hard news and lighter stories.

Simonson won countless awards for his many stories over the years, including what those in the broadcast business call “hardware,” or plaques, from the Associated Press, Milwaukee Press Club, Wisconsin Broadcasters’ Association, and two National Headliner Awards.

Off the air, Simonson was also a gifted teacher, with a knack for developing UW-Superior students in his journalism classes into top-notch reporters, Leland said.

“He also had a knack for spotting and developing reporting talent in young people,” Leland said.

“WPR has hired two of his former students in recent years,” he continued. “And in a deadline-driven business that can be very stressful, Mike was almost always in good humor. We’ve lost not only a gifted reporter, mentor and colleague, but also a good friend.”

Simonson was born in Duluth, Minn., where he attended Denfield High School and was active in the school paper, before attending the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where his love of journalism grew. From his earliest days at KDAL-AM in Duluth, through a short stint in Georgia and North Carolina, to his tenure with WPR, Simonson’s work regularly received regional and national recognition.

His 2012 radio documentary, “Forever Ace: The Richard Bong Story,” on the life of the Wisconsin World War II hero, won a National Headliner award and an Associated Press award. The program was the result of more than 10 years of interviews by Simonson and his WPR colleagues.

“Journalism wasn’t just a job for Mike,” said John Munson, Superior regional manager, “it was a passion. He felt a deep responsibility to find and tell the stories of the people of Northern Wisconsin.”

Simonson came back in the middle of a vacation to provide non-stop (and nationally award-winning) coverage when a railroad car full of benzene crashed into the Nemadji River in 1992. And, when NASA astronaut and Wisconsin-native Col. Jeffrey Williams was launched into space from Kazakhstan, Simonson was so intent on covering the story that he flew to the remote Central Asian nation at his own expense to be there.

According to Munson, when it came to covering the news, compromise wasn’t a word in Simonson’s vocabulary.

“He was dogged and courageous in his questioning of local and national figures alike,” he noted.

This commitment extended to the students he mentored over the years, many who won awards during their time with him and went on to their own successful careers in journalism.

“It is safe to say that over the past 25 years no one has spent more time telling the stories of Northern Wisconsin than Mike Simonson and it isn’t likely that anyone ever will again. We’re really going to miss him,” Munson said.

Arrangements are pending.

Simonson was 57 years old.

Read WPR’s official statement here.

Read and/or listen to Simonson’s last report, filed Friday, here.

Editor’s Note: WPR will update this post with information as it becomes available.