Patrick Pfingsten

"I'm very proud to be with WDWS and WHMS said Patrick Pfingsten, WDWS' newest news reporter. I'm a news junkie. This is the job for me."

Patrick came to WDWS from a local sports station. He previously worked as an agriculture and sports reporter at WKAN Radio in Kankakee. He started his career at his local station, WGFA Radio in Watseka at the age of 15. "I caught the bug early," he said. "I love doing radio. It's a direct connection into peoples lives, their homes, their cars."

Political stories are where Patrick tries to hang his hat. If it's congress, the state legislature, the county board, or a city council, the decisions these make directly affect our lives. Patrick even covered President Bush's speech at the 2004 Farm Progress Show in Iowa.

"I've been lucky to interview Senators Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, as well as the mayors of Urbana and Champaign." As much as Patrick enjoys political stories, he also likes to tackle the stories that are a little off the beaten path.

"I love to have fun. If it's a story on haunted houses or a celebrity goat-milking contest, I want my listeners to be as spooked or laughing just as much as I am."

Patrick grew up on a farm near Crescent City in Iroquois County, about an hour north of Champaign-Urbana. He says he loves living in Champaign-Urbana, even if it's a little different from his hometown. "My high school graduating class had 12 kids in it, my hometown had 550. So I'm still adjusting to living in a big town."

Contact this personality