Jamie Grout brought on as producer for WHO morning show

Jamie Grout first worked at the WHO radio station in Des Moines many years ago as a “lowly overnight board operator,” but this week he starts as a part-time producer for The WHO Morning Show with Jeff Angelo. It’s certainly a step up from his past gig, and it’s a chance for the longtime DJ to get back on the air.

As one of three local radio personalities laid off by the corporate overheads of KCOB and Energy 106.7 back in May 2024, Grout has been itching to get back to doing what he has done best for the past 40 years. He announced the new job on Jan. 2 via Facebook post. It generated hundreds of interactions from fans.

“I’ll kind of be like an air traffic controller for the morning show,” Grout said in an interview with Newton News. “There are a lot of elements involved. It’s not like a music station where you have the music, commercials and the interactions with your co-host … It’s a pretty big job.”

WHO is one of the top radio stations in the state. As a producer for Jeff Angelo’s morning show, Grout said he will be coordinating news, weather, sports, traffic reports, markets and guests on the air. From time to time he’ll be interacting with Angelo. It’s a return to form for the Iowa Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer.

“It works out really good and it’s going to be so nice. Those people at WHO are total pros,” Grout said. “They really are and they know what they’re doing. The news department there is fantastic. They don’t just read the news; they tell a story. So it’s nice to be included in that group of people.”

But it also means he’ll have to get up bright and early at 3:30 a.m. once again. It is an adjustment he’s obviously ready to take on, but it was nice to sleep in these past few months. When Grout was taken off the air last year, he made the transition to podcaster and has developed a following in Newton and Grinnell.

Grout recently hosted a ribbon cutting for his podcast, which he hoped would fill a void after the loss of Newton’s and Grinnell’s radio personalities. While the radio stations have made some headway in getting local people back on the air, Grout’s podcast has found a niche. He credits that success to three people.

Lynnette Baker, his girlfriend, supported him and helped develop the logo, the website and YouTube page for Out & About with Jamie Grout. Jeff Maki of Clemon-Maki Insurance encouraged him to start his podcast and has been his No. 1 critic and coach. Friend and fellow podcaster David Cotton helped Grout better distribute his podcast.

Since he is working at WHO part time, Grout is still able to continue his podcast and upload interviews with community members and cover events. Which is great news for the locals who have supported him and have tuned in to Out & About with Jamie Grout on a regular basis.

In fact they were just as a happy to hear about his return to radio. The response from his supporters is overwhelming, he said, and he is certainly feeling the love. Grout recalled a scene from the film “It’s a Wonderful Life” in which the main character opens a book and reads a handwritten note from his guardian angel:

Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

“When you get let go like I was back in late May, you just feel totally deflated and think, ‘Does anybody really care?’ I’ve been fired in radio eight times. This was through no fault of my own. The company was just having financial problems. So when I get (these comments) it reinforces my faith that people support me and that I have friends,” he said.