Conrad Burns
Former Senator from Montana Conrad Burns passed away on Thursday, April 28, at the age of 81 according to multiple reports. The three term Republican senator had a background in broadcast, reporting on agriculture news on radio and television, and starting his own radio show. In 1975 he founded the Northern Ag Network. During his time in the Senate, he was a leading supporter of the broadcast industry on Capitol Hill.
Gordon Smith, NAB president/CEO and himself a former Republican senator, released a statement following the news of Burns’ death: “Broadcasters have lost a great champion and I have lost a good Senate friend with the passing of Conrad Burns. Conrad’s deep appreciation for local broadcasting — based on his many years of service as a farm broadcaster in Montana — was evident on the Senate Commerce Committee. NAB and the farm broadcasting community will miss this common-sense lawmaker and man of good humor.”
Burns was also a member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and was inducted into the NAFB Hall of Fame in 2011. Read a profile from NAFB: pasting
