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
Yakima, If You Could Push Fast Forward And Save Time, Would You?
Netflix’s director of product innovation says Netflix users hit the “Skip Intro” button 136 million times a day.
Yakima Rep. Corry Hopeful The Winds Of Change Blow In Olympia
Many pundits are predicting a voting nightmare for Democrats in the mid-term elections and several conservative observers we've talked to feel the same thing could be headed for Washington State.
Yakima, What Can We Do To Be As Happy As Finland?
There are so many iconic images and activities that bring happiness to those of us living and loving life in the Yakima Valley
Questions for Yakima Crime Resource Center Planners – Who Pays?
YVCOG officials say the objective is for member jurisdictions to work together, across boundaries in support of each other, with shared information and resources.
Harvard Study Backs Yakima’s 2013 City Council Ban On Marijuana
Many people given a medical marijuana card to ease pain, anxiety, or depression symptoms become addicted to the drug, a study published Friday by JAMA
Yakima, Two Things You Need To Know, Come Hell Or High Water
Getting Covid can be Hell, not for most kids, not for everyone, but for some of us, the Coronavirus is hell.
What’s The Word Yakima Hipsters? The Bird, Bird, Bird Is The Word
And for the record, Spring is for the birds.
How Best To Fight Yakima County Crime-Does It Take A Village?
County Prosecutor Joe Brusic says a regional crime center would be of great help in prosecuting crime across the county.
2 Out Of 3 Northwest States Make Top Ten DUI List
The states that score the worst for DUI's are the states where you can see one hundred miles is any direction-- which is probably good so you are able to see the drunk drivers coming
Beer Friday AT VFW Post 379 , Yakima, Come Meet America’s Heroes
Hobbies, interests, stories, jokes, current events, family all are fair game for gab and it's really a fun experience to be in the company of so many folks who love their community and their Country.