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He's known as the "fungi" on classic rock station WLAV-97FM for being such a "fun guy" in the morning. Tony Gates has delivered mail along a 10-mile route with one of his listeners to prove he can handle more than just a "cushy" radio job. He also has showed up at a caller's house at 5 a.m. to take him up on an invitation to go golfing.
Despite these antics. he has watched radio become big business in this market during his more than 20 years in the industry.
When Michigan Media Inc. (which also owns WKLQ-94.5 FM and WBRL-1340 An Sports Radio) bought WLAV in 1993, the company hoped to turn around the station, which had undergone a number of recent format changes. One strategy was to bring back Gates, who worked at WLAV for 10 years shortly after graduating from Grand Valley State University.
After a 10-year hiatus spent in other radio markets and on tour promoting musicians such as Whitney Houston and The Grateful Dead, Gates returned to WLAV in 1995 as program director. In September, he renewed his contract with the station for another two years and was promoted to operations manager.
From the station's offices on the 10th floor of the People's Building along the new Monroe Center, Gates spins his 6-9 a.m. "Morning Train Wreck" show along with co-host Kristie Swan. During...