CLASS OF 1976
Nebraska native Roger Larson began his radio career in 1953 as an account executive for KFOR, spending 40 years with the station where he rose to become General Manager and Vice President.
He was hired at KFOR Radio and TV by Manager Dick Chapin. Larson soon became Sales Manager, then Station Manager, and finally was appointed to the top spot. While at KFOR, the station grew tremendously and was the flagship station for Stuart Stat ions, a nationally recognized group of 14 stations in the Midwest.
During his tenure at KFOR, Roger was very active in the community serving on several boards as a member, officer and Chairman in some instances.
Roger served two different terms a President of the Nebraska Broadcasters Association. Two of his accomplishments were the establishment of the NBA Hall of Fame (into which he was inducted in 1976) and the installation of the weather radio signs along Interstate 80 advising motorists where to dial for weather information
After 40 years Larson retired from KFOR in 1993 segueing at the request of station owner Jim Stuart, Jr. to join the staff at the National Bank of Commerce, now Wells Fargo. During that time he began airing radio editorials on KFOR. Lincoln listeners grew accustomed to him concluding his editorials with, “I am Roger Larson, and that’s the way I see it.” In 2005 he was “no longer in KFOR’s programming plans” and he switched his twice-per-week editorials to station KLIN.
A community leader in Lincoln, Larson assisted in fundraising for dozens of organizations and helped raised millions of dollars for many community projects. In 2012, a new 10-story building on Q Street in Lincoln was named the Larson Building in his honor.
Roger passed away in October, 2013.
