Karen Dalessandro joins WKTI, 6 months after 'retiring' from WMIL

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Karen Dalessandro, who retired as morning co-host on WMIL-FM (106.1) in March, is joining country-music rival WKTI-FM (94.5), as that station's afternoon drive-time host and music director.

Dalessandro's new gig starts at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

A two-time Country Music Association personality of the year and a member of the Country Radio Hall of Fame, Dalessandro retired from WMIL after 19 years at the station, primarily as a co-host of the country station's morning show.

When her retirement was announced, Dalessandro wrote on WMIL's Facebook page that she and her husband, Doug, had "lots of travel in our future and NO wake up calls!"

Afternoon drive has been a work in progress at WKTI since it went all-country in May 2015, after more than four decades as a rock/pop/Top 40 station and one month after the station was acquired by E.W. Scripps Co.

Initially, Dayton Kane, the program director when WKTI went country, handled the station's 2 to 7 p.m. shift. The station hired Shane Parkey to man the slot in January 2016, only to replace him with Joel Lisinski, better known as Jax, last November. In recent months, Jonathan West ("JW") has been filling in during the afternoon shift.

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