Роб Саймс завершает 32-летнюю карьеру ведущего утренней программы на радиостанции KLAD-FM

A voice that has helped wake up the Basin for more than three decades will soon be missed come Dec. 23. Rob Siems, the longtime KLAD-FM morning host and voice of the Wake-Up Crew, announced Thursday that he will soon be turning off the microphone, closing a 32-year run with Basin Mediactive and a radio career spanning nearly four decades. “I have worked with so many great people over the years, and I’m proud that our stations have remained community-focused and made such a major impact in the Klamath Basin,” Siems said in announcing his retirement. A native of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Siems began his broadcasting career in 1987 at KDSR-FM in Williston, North Dakota. From there came stops in Minot and Wahpeton, North Dakota; Breckenridge, Minnesota; and the Fargo-Moorhead area, where he said his initial duties were spinning 45s — a 7-inch vinyl record historically used to broadcast single, three-minute pop and rock songs. “So much has changed since those days. I’ve played records, CDs and have now been in the digital world,” Siems said. “Digital technology really opened the doors to doing things differently in radio. I worked many Christmases and other holidays having to be present to spin the records. Thanks to digital, that’s no longer a requirement.” In 1994, Siems arrived at KLAD-FM in Klamath Falls to take over its morning show, and for the next 32 years, Siems and the Wake-Up Crew became a fixture of mornings across the Basin, accompanying listeners on their commutes, at work and around the breakfast table. “I’m sad about him retiring,” KLAD Wake-Up Crew co-host Melissa Tolbert said. “Rob made me want to start radio. I came in knowing nothing, so I feel very honored to have learned from the best.” His role on the “Wake Up Crew” represents only one part of Siems’ career with Basin Mediactive. After joining the company as program director, he became operations manager in 1999 before taking over as general manager, a position he has held for the past 20 years. The promotion put Siems at the helm of a six-station radio group serving the Klamath Basin, including 92.5 KLAD-FM, 99.5 The Fox, 94.9 The Rock, Big 98.5, news-talk station 1150 KAGO-AM and sports station 960 KLAD-AM. “Going from operations manager to general manager was probably the most challenging transition of my career,” Siems said. “I became responsible for everything and overseeing all the staff. It was an adjustment.” Under Siems’ leadership, Basin mediactive was voted the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce’s Best Place to Work among businesses with 15 or fewer employees in 2018. “He’s the only boss I’ve ever had. It’ll be a change with him gone and I’ll definitely miss being in the studio with him. It’s up to us to hold down the fort,” KLAD Wake-Up Crew co-host Josh Eldredge said. More awards came Basin Mediactive’s and Siems’ way in 2025 as the Oregon Association of Broadcasters named him its Broadcaster of the Year while KLAD-FM earned Station of the Year. “I was completely taken off guard by being named Broadcaster of the Year; I didn’t even know I’d been nominated. When I received the award, I remember thinking that there’s so many good people I work with and felt like each of them should have gotten the award,” Siems said. Siems also said part of the success that KLAD-FM garners comes not only from the on-air personalities, but all the community involvement ingrained at the station. “All the years of being out in the community and doing what we do — we are so involved in the community,” he said. “We live the same life’s as our listeners and just try to have fun alongside them. That’s our goal.” During his years in Klamath Falls, Siems served with organizations throughout the Basin, including the Salvation Army, YMCA, Klamath County Chamber of Commerce, CASA and Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank. He also spent roughly 25 years coaching youth sports. For Siems, retirement will not mean completely disappearing from the radio business or the Klamath community, as he plans to continue working with Basin Mediactive on a part-time basis as a consultant. He also intends to keep volunteering locally. He hopes to spend more time watching his sons play baseball and has a goal of traveling to every national park with his wife. “I’ll miss doing a job I love and working with so many individuals in the community,” Siems said. “It’s been a roller coaster ride. Reading some of the messages coming in from people who’ve listened has been pretty emotional.” For Siems, those messages have offered a reminder of just how many mornings he has shared with listeners over the years. After more than three decades on KLAD, his voice has become part of the daily routine for generations of Klamath Basin residents, accompanying people on their drives to work, school drop-offs and countless mornings spent starting their days. The responses to his retirement announcement, Siems said, have made the significance of that connection particularly apparent as he prepares to leave a job that has been a defining part of his life since arriving in Klamath Falls in 1994.