The immediate family of Dori Monson, Bonneville International Corporation, and KIRO Newsradio are exceedingly grieved to report Dori’s unexpected death on Saturday night at a Seattle hospital.
According to a written statement from Bonneville International, which owns KIRO-FM, Monson experienced a “cardiac event” at home on Thursday.
Monson was immediately taken to the hospital, but he passed away. He leaves behind a wife, three grown daughters, a dog, and many devoted listeners to his show.
Dori, a longtime defender of social and political causes, was well-known among his large audience as a kid from the bad neighborhoods of Ballard.
Cathy Cangiano, senior vice president, and market manager for Bonneville Seattle said, “We, along with Dori’s family, are mourning his loss. We are developing on-air tributes to remember and honor his life and legacy,” the statement continued.
At the University of Washington, Dori began her radio career in 1982. Since then, he has worked at KIRO since the early 1990s, as well as KING-TV and KING Radio.
Dori, a devout Christian and ardent supporter of girls’ sports for more than 25 years, led Shorecrest High School to its first girls’ basketball state championship in 2016.
Despite having health concerns in recent years, Dori loved playing pickleball with his family and going deep sea fishing with friends from KIRO and ESPN.
Monson hosted his popular three-hour program daily while contributing to local sports and the Seahawks radio broadcast crew for many years.
He was referred to as a “longtime watchdog of social and political issues” by KIRO Newsradio, stating that the station is preparing to arrange on-air tributes.
His lively program aired from noon to 3 p.m. on weekdays and frequently included state politicians from both parties and a snappy rundown of the “fastest 15” headlines.
He consistently voiced his disapproval of Sound Transit and the Highway 99 tunnel.
The Shorecrest High School girls’ basketball team won its first state championship under the direction of Monson in 2016.
Other than family matters, he said, that championship run was “perhaps the most thrilling life event I’ve had.” He claimed that he was working an average of 75 hours each week.
He was fired from his show in 2020 for two and a half months due to a birth certificate-related tweet that made fun of transgender people. He was barred from hosting the pre-and post-game Seahawks presentations by Bonneville.
