Jodi's Journal: The end of an on-air era
Jodi Schwan
7 hours ago
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Oct. 25, 2026
There aren’t that many of us in local media who specialize in business coverage. And come this Friday — at least for a bit — it appears there will be one fewer.
Actually, as Bill Zortman retires Oct. 31, it might feel like losing more than one business journalist. As I told Zortman on the air this past Friday, he easily does the work of reporter, host and producer, putting together hours of local radio every week.
I’ve been honored to help him kick off his 9 a.m. “It’s Your Business” show each Friday on KELO-AM for longer than either of us can remember as he invites me on to share some of our top stories of the week. It easily has been happening for more than a decade. And for Zortman, it has been nearly 5,400 shows just under the “It’s Your Business” name — the capstone of a 60-year career in news.
A 60-year career?
It’s true. And it’s so rare in our industry today that I thought it merited attention.
Zortman grew up on a farm in Onawa, Iowa, and left school after two years as an Iowa Hawkeye to work for a small-town radio station before moving into television news in Sioux City. An Air Guard deployment took him to New Mexico in 1968, and he lived throughout the southern U.S. for more than 30 years before returning to the Midwest in 2000. His news career spanned print, radio and television, from front-line reporting to management.
Upon his move to South Dakota, he spent two years running a chapter of the American Red Cross, which included Sept. 11, 2001. As funds were diverted to New York and Washington, D.C., he turned to a career in real estate. Along the way, he was asked to do a talk show on KELO-AM. It first covered business, then expanded to add a farm show.
The latter is particularly unique in our area. If there are few of us covering local business, there are even fewer it seems devoted to what continues to be our state’s primary industry: agriculture.
But Zortman has been a constant. He digs in, follows up and rarely takes time off. As I learned last week, he often is on the road from his home in Hartford at 5 a.m. to prepare at the downtown Sioux Falls studio for the hours of live radio ahead. He stacks his shows with guests who provide a wide variety of perspectives and offer what I hope is a welcome break for many listeners from the vitriol that seems to have increased across not only talk radio but cable news and digital media as well.
“I enjoy being able to make a difference and define what my hourlong shows are,” he said in an interview several years ago. “If you are going to be an advocate, why not agriculture? Why not business? Why not something that can make a difference.”
Zortman turned 80 on Sept. 27, and not long after got word that it was time to pick a retirement date. His final show will be this Friday. I generally call into his program but wanted to stop by in the studio one last time, which I did last week.
It’s quieter in newsrooms across this city than it was when I began in this business more than 25 years ago — certainly more so than in most of Zortman’s six-decade career.