I recently conducted this mini-interview of Steve & Laura for SHORE Magazine...
Steve Zana and Laura Waluszko // Indiana 105, Valparaiso
Steve is the host of the Dawn Patrol show every weekday morning on country station Indiana 105, and Laura is the cohost/newscaster. They have been doing the show together for nearly twelve years on Northwest Indiana’s highest-rated station. Laura is a local girl, originally from Hobart, Indiana.
Radio Philosophy
Steve: Talk about the community and what is going on. And have fun. People remember you had a good time this morning.
Laura: Entertain, inform and be yourself
Radio Influences
Steve: Wolfman Jack. “Oh my baby, I’m always on vacation!” Bigger than life. Great energy. Up-tempo. He is the very reason I do this.
Laura: My family and the people I work with every day, on the air and off.
Best Perks
Steve: I play music and talk for a living. The whole job is a perk. I have a mobile DJ service that I run, too. I do weddings and parties. The perk to that is people know me from the Dawn Patrol and will hire me to bring that fun to them . . . again, playing music and talking and making money. What’s not to like?
Laura: Being able to work in the early morning—really!
Something listeners don’t know about you
Steve: I am very self-conscious. I worry more than I should.
Laura: That I was on a game show several years ago (Sale of the Century) . . . wait, maybe they do know!
Best thing about doing radio here
Steve: The best part is I feel at home. I could never go to New York or Los Angeles. Just don’t see me fitting in there at all. And for what? Most of the people who get those big-time gigs are out of work in a year or two. Laura and I are going on our twelfth year. I have set my retirement date at January 20, 2027. That will be our thirtieth year. As long as they will have me till then.
Laura: One of the best things about doing radio in this town is . . . that we’re doing a radio show for so many cities and towns around Northwest Indiana—it’s great to be able to do a show for the region known as the Region.
