Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee … wait, that was that other Davy. This one was born on a cattle and wheat farm on the Great Plains of North Dakota. Farm-fresh common sense, work ethic and imagination forged in the fields of great grains. Like spaghetti? Thank my dad. After an Honor Society high school career in Lakota, N.D., I attended junior college on a basketball scholarship where I repeatedly demonstrated that white men indeed can’t jump. But I did manage an associate’s degree in wildlife management. From there, a semester at the University of North Dakota, where I started to pursue a background in broadcasting and a minor in goofing off, so… To further educational opportunities and real-world experience, I enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974 and eventually became part of the first all-volunteer army. I served three years as a radio/TV information specialist with extra training in newsprint and leadership. The bulk of my tour was at Fort Lewis, Wash., and I made a note to return to the great state of Washington one day. Honorably discharged in 1977 I returned to North Dakota and Minot State University, where I received degrees in communications and psychology. While attending school I worked as a radio DJ and a TV news reporter at a local combo operation. It was there that I discovered that what was taught in classroom didn’t always square with what was going on in the real world. Good to know. From there I moved to Blacksburg, Va., and a radio/TV producer job for Virginia Tech University -- Go, Gobblers! Go, Hokies! Two years on the East Coast was enough and I headed west to the hippie enclave of Eureka, Calif., for my first TV news director/anchorman gig. Yes, I had a mustache and comparisons to Ron Burgundy would one day be appropriate … just keep them “classy.” At a news guy conference in Las Vegas I met legendary newsman T.J. Close, who was from Washington state! Here was my callback to the Evergreen State, but I wound up on the never-green side of the Cascades. T.J hired me to come to Yakima and KIMA-TV in the winter of 1982. I worked a couple of years there, then spent 10 years across town as news director/anchor at KAPP-TV. I tried my hand at TV sales and radio sales and ultimately got a morning talk show radio gig for about two years on KCHT. (K-chat. Get it? Me, neither) By then KNDO-TV, the only TV station in town I hadn’t worked for, was looking for a news director/anchorman and they came calling based on my track record of past success and the fact that I work cheap. That was a successful five-year run, but the station was sold and the new owners wanted their own people in place, so early in 2001 I was about to be out of a job when KIT’s manager called and asked me to breakfast. Best meal ever! LOTS of bacon. Sixteen years later the Morning News with Dave and Lance rolls on as Yakima’s most popular morning radio show, presenting a variety of news , sports, weather, talk and fun -- Information and good conversation wrapped in our tell-it-like-it-is kinda style. We champion our advertisers, we pull for the underdogs, we love kids, veterans, seniors, animals, America and everything else that’s good and true that list doesn’t cover. We are A.M Proud with conservative values and a love for the people of the Yakima Valley. And it sure beats working on the farm.
Dave Ettl
Big Bucks For The Craziest Excuse For Skipping Work? Yup!
An online payroll and scheduling site is looking for the wildest excuse ever for missing work and there is a one-thousand dollar prize for the best idea.
National Pet Day, What’s The Most Popular In The Pacific NW?
But for this special day, let's take dogs and cats off the table. (In fact, I wish my cats would stay off the table
More Movies Shoots In Yakima? Director/Granger Native Thinks So!
Rick Casteneda was a Granger dreamer who had movies playing in his mind. He found stories worth telling in the simplest of occurrences and in the humblest of places.
Wanna Play Cards? Don’t Invite WA State, Those People Are Nasty!
As different as America is from state to state, our tastes in card games vary in much the same way.
Yakima Food Trucks Rock – Have You Tried the RED One? WOW!
What does it take to be awesome in the food truck business? I would say, variety, quality, affordability, and personality.
Who Gets College Cred for Making Wine? Find Out, Taste Their Work!
Yakima Valley Vintners produces 400-700 cases of wine annually and its student-crafted wines have earned more than 185 awards over the last 13 years
Granger Cherry Fest…Food, Fun and…A Zombie Camel? What The…?
The Granger Cherry Festival looks to have something for everyone and don't forget that it's FREE to attend...just don't expect any cherries
You All In For Tequila Tasting With Yakima’s Mexican Sister City?
The Noche de Agave Tequila tasting, dinner, and silent auction is coming back to Yakima.
Does Sexual Assault Occur Online?- Victim Advocates Say A LOT!
One in five women in the United States experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime Nearly a quarter (24.8%) of men in the U.S. experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime.
A Yakima Piano Teacher Could Help You Prevent Alzheimer’s
When people in their sixties and seventies learned to play the piano it strengthened the white matter in their brain, which is known to degrade when memory and concentration problems set in.