Curt and Dave Retire

Tom Yutrzenka introduced me to the Curt and Dave morning show. Tom was my bus driver back in high school and we used to listen to KKAQ on the old am bus radio. I later worked with them at KKAQ radio, Curt Quesnell and Dave Halvorson plan to retire September 30th and I want to tell you about them.

KKAQ started out life as a “day-timer” which meant the station operated only during daylight hours. When the sun went down, the radio station signal would travel further and bleed into other radio stations coverage area so it was only allowed to broadcast during the day. It was under these conditions in which the Curt and Dave show began on November 2nd, 1979.

Young, really young, Curt Quesnell.

I believe Curt started the show and Dave came a long soon afterward.

Young, really young, Dave Halvorson.

My earliest memories of the Curt and Dave show were how the show reminded me of the television program “Laugh-In.” One of the best-known portions of the Curt and Dave show was “the Harv Hover traffic report.” Harv Hover talked about fictional traffic in the Northwest Minnesota with a very humorous and topical slant. There were so many characters, jokes and clever skits that I thought Curt and Dave must live in the Cities or Winnipeg or some place that talented people inhabit. I couldn’t believe it when Danni Halvorson told me that Davin was his brother. It blew my mind! I had one degree of separation from a celebrity.

Dave Halvorson at a business promotion

It amazed me how Curt and Dave always knew so much about music and events in the area. They were innovators and spent a fair amount of time covering the expanding world of snowmobile racing. The I-500 snowmobile was huge back then and snowcross was just starting to gain popularity. If you attended snowmobile races back in the eighties, you probably saw Curt and Dave and you certainly listened to their reports. They made the world of snowmobile sound very glamorous and their talents made listeners invest their emotions into the results of these races.

Now the music. The Curt and Dave show was probably the only regional classic-country morning show of which I know. They played new music too but this music was always from a more classic vein than contemporary. They’ve always been good to support new artists too. The “Back Behind the Barn Boys” cassette was always a staple on their music rotation. Dave Halvorson was the station music director and I honestly don’t know what I will do without his taste in country music. I mean, his choice of music was better than what I would have chosen for myself. Curt and Dave recently supported the song “Girl Crush” on KKAQ/KKDQ and on their Facebook page. It was a song initially underplayed nationally but brought to prominence by the support of DJ’s just like Curt and Dave.

Curt, Bob Hultgren, ????, Dave and Wayne Ralph.

September 30th is Curt and Dave’s last day on the air. Most people just walk away as they retire from their career; to many of us-Curt and Dave will walk away as legends.