After Nearly 40 Years in Radio, Rob Siems Prepares to Sign Off
The longtime KLAD morning host and Basin Mediactive general manager will retire in December after more than three decades serving the Klamath Basin.
AT A GLANCE
Retirement: Rob Siems will retire from full-time duties at Basin Mediactive at the end of 2026.
Final day on air: Dec. 23, 2026.
Career: 39 years in radio, including 32 years with Basin Mediactive.
KLAD: Siems joined KLAD-FM in 1994 as morning show host and still holds that role.
Leadership: He is celebrating his 20th year as general manager in 2026.
Community: Siems has served with numerous Klamath Basin organizations and coached youth sports for about 25 years.
Recognition: He was named the Oregon Association of Broadcasters’ 2025 Broadcaster of the Year.
Rob Siems: Longtime KLAD morning host and Basin Mediactive general manager Rob Siems will retire from full-time duties in December after 39 years in radio and 32 years with the Klamath Falls company. Basin Mediactive.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — For more than three decades, Rob Siems has been one of those familiar voices woven into daily life in the Klamath Basin.
He has greeted listeners in the morning, helped guide local radio stations behind the scenes, served on community boards, coached youth sports, and spent years making sure the stations he helped lead remained closely connected to the place they call home.
At the end of this year, Siems will begin stepping away.
Basin Mediactive announced Thursday that Siems will retire after 32 years with the company and 39 years in radio. His final day on the air is scheduled for Dec. 23.
A native of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Siems began his radio career in 1987 at KDSR-FM in Williston, North Dakota.
Stops in Minot and Wahpeton, North Dakota, along with Breckenridge, Minnesota, and the Fargo-Moorhead area followed before he arrived at KLAD-FM in 1994.
He came to Klamath Falls as KLAD’s morning show host — a role he still holds today.
Over the years, his responsibilities grew far beyond the microphone.
Siems initially served as program director for the radio group, became operations manager in 1999, and later moved into the general manager position. In 2026, he is marking his 20th year leading the company as general manager.
Through all of those changes, the morning show remained part of his routine.
Radio built around community
Siems’ impact in the Klamath Basin has extended well beyond the studio.
Over the years, he has served with organizations including the Salvation Army, YMCA, Klamath County Chamber of Commerce, CASA, and the Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank.
“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.”
He has also spent roughly 25 years coaching youth sports and served as chairman of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters from 2019 through 2021.
That emphasis on community has also shaped the stations he helped lead.
In 2018, Basin Mediactive was named the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce’s Best Place to Work among businesses with 15 employees or fewer.
More recently, Siems was named the Oregon Association of Broadcasters’ 2025 Broadcaster of the Year, while KLAD-FM received Station of the Year honors.
For Siems, those accomplishments come back to the people he has worked alongside and the community the stations serve.
“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.
Retirement will mean more time for golf and travel, but Siems does not plan to completely leave the business behind.
He said he intends to remain involved with Basin Mediactive on a part-time basis as a consultant.
“I'll miss doing a job I love and working with so many individuals in the community,” Siems said. “Though I am retiring full time, I'll still be involved on a part-time basis in the background as a consultant, so I will still get to be part of a business I love.”
For listeners, Dec. 23 will mark the end of a familiar chapter.
For nearly 40 years, radio has been Siems’ profession. For more than 30 of those years, Klamath Falls has been home.
And while the daily routine may be changing, his connection to the Klamath Basin clearly is not.
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