Lou Buron

Inducted 2007

Lou Buron got his first taste of broadcasting at KVSC Radio at St. Cloud State University. It was the start of an outstanding career marked by excellence in radio and service to the community. He grew up in St. Paul and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1966. After serving in the Army National Guard, he earned another degree in mass communications at St. Cloud State, and joined the sales team at KDWB Radio in 1971. He moved up the ladder quickly, and by 1977 had become regional vice president of the station’s parent company, Doubleday Broadcasting of New York, responsible for operations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver, and St. Louis, as well as the Twin Cities. In 1986 he moved to Parker Communications, with Cities 97 and other stations in Las Vegas, Honolulu, and California. He served two years as president before forming his own company, Omni Broadcasting, in 1988. Starting with KBUN and KBHP in Bemidji, Omni was sixteen stations strong, serving Bemidji, Alexandria, Brainerd, and Staples/Wadena before being sold to Hubbard Broadcasting in 2015.

Under Buron’s leadership, Omni stations raised more than $4 million with the annual Radiothon to End Child Abuse, just one example of Lou's commitment to public service, which was matched only by his enthusiasm for the industry he loved.

Lou passed away Monday, January 23, 2017, from complications of a fall which resulted in pneumonia.