Legendary political broadcast reporter Pat Kessler is among the latest selections who were announced Tuesday for induction into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Joining Kessler in the Minnesota Broadcast Association’s 2024 class are Walter “Q Bear” Banks Jr.; Bill Diehl; siblings Kari Hubbard-Rominski, Stan E. Hubbard, Ginny Hubbard and Robert W. Hubbard; and Mark and Paula Persons.
“I’m gobsmacked,” Kessler, who retired from WCCO-TV (Channel 4) following the 2020 election cycle, said after learning of his selection. “I feel lucky to have spent my life doing what I love. It’s humbling to be included in this group of extraordinary broadcasters.”
In his 36 years with the station, the 70-year-old Kessler reported on the administrations of eight Minnesota governors and dozens of legislative sessions and political conventions and chronicled the presidential campaigns of multiple Minnesotans. His credits include coverage of the death of Hubert Humphrey, the upset victory of celebrity-wrestler-turned-governor Jesse Ventura, and the plane crash that killed U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone.
He also was among the first reporters in the nation to publicly fact-check politicians on TV, debuting WCCO’s “Reality Check” for the 1996 Minnesota U.S. Senate election.
Banks is the afternoon drive DJ and assistant program manager at KMOJ-FM in Minneapolis. He has been a mainstay at the urban music and commentary station for more than 40 years.
Diehl, who died in 2017 at age 91, had a career that spanned more than a half-century until he retired in the late 1990s. He was a radio DJ, film critic, newspaper columnist and entertainment emcee.
The Hubbards’ joint selection marks a third generation from the family to be so honored. Their father, Stanley S. Hubbard, and their grandfather, Stanley E. Hubbard, were charter inductees in 2001.
