New Career Path For Kurt Van Auken
• It’s the end of a successful 24-year ride at Saga Hot AC KSTZ (Star 102.5)/Des Moines for Kurt Van Auken, who announced he’s stepping away his co-host role on the Ken, Kurt & Tawinee morning show — and radio — at the end of the month. His final broadcast will be Friday, June 28.
Van Auken made his announcement on-air Wednesday, accompanied by a lengthy Facebook post that reads, in part, “If you told 12-year-old me that one day, I would get to live my dream job of being on the radio for 24 years… he would be as happy as I am today. I’m so thankful for the past 20+ years to work with such incredible people…and for such a great audience. Today, I announced that I’m leaving Star 102.5… and radio… to follow a different career path.”
The post continues, “So the question now is… why? Why leave? It’s just time. It’s an unsatisfactory answer perhaps, but it’s the reason. From the early, early hours… it just was beginning to wear me down, and it was time for a change for myself. It’s time… but I’ve loved the time I’ve had here. My last morning will be Friday, June 28th… so until then, let’s laugh a bunch… smile a ton… and have a great time. Thank you Central Iowa… I love you.”
RAMP reached out to KSTZ Program Director Ken Auge, who let us know that he and co-host Tawinee Bunnell will continue on as a duo in morning drive. Commenting on his lengthy tenure working with Van Auken, Auge said, “Kurt has been a gem to work with. Supremely talented, and an even better person. He and I have worked together for the past 24 years, and I will miss him terribly, not just on the show and everything he does to make Star better, but also I will miss working with my friend and seeing him every day. Radio needs people like him, and he will be greatly missed by our listeners in Central Iowa.”
