Des Moines was supposed to be a temporary stop for Sean Roberts. It has become home.
Moments before the start of the Oct. 3 radio show “The Drive with Heather Burnside and Sean Roberts," Keith Murphy walks to the door in the third-floor studio in the iHeart building. Murphy, who co-hosts the show that airs before this one, looks back at Roberts and Burnside before leaving for the day.
“Have a good show,” Murphy says.
Roberts has his computer turned on and has leaned to the front of his chair so he can speak clearly into the temporarily turned-off microphone when when he hears Murphy's last-second words before the show starts.
“Thank you,” he quickly says.
Shortly after that, a light goes on in the studio, signaling that Roberts and Burnside are now on air. It's go time. It’s a moment the 33-year-old Roberts looks forward to every day. And it’s a job, hosting a daily talk show on the popular Iowa radio station, that he's dreamed of having for years.
“It still hasn’t set in,” Roberts said.
That’s because it has been a long journey. Roberts, the new co-host of the metro's popular drive-time radio show, spent nearly a decade waiting for his shot. Now that it has arrived, he’s made a home for himself in Iowa and a name for himself in Des Moines.
“He’s earned it,” Burnside said.
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The Hanover Park, Ill., native came to Des Moines to play baseball for Grand View and study broadcasting. Roberts figured the stint here would be short and he’d move back to Illinois after graduating in 2012. He'd live in an apartment with his buddies and enjoy life after college.
That never happened.
Instead, Roberts decided to start chasing his dream of hosting his own radio radio show in Des Moines. It began in 2012 when Roberts landed an internship at KISS-FM to complete a graduation requirement at Grand View.
He biked back and forth to the station, 30 minutes each way, to work as a producer. He was willing to do whatever it took the make his dream come true. That meant taking on small roles at the station and eventually a part-time job.
Roberts provided updates on high school football games every Friday for KXnO in 2012. The following year, he got a part-time job as a board operator for Elvis Duran’s morning show. Roberts did that until October 2014, when he landed another part-time gig producing KXnO’s morning show featuring Travis Justice and Ross Peterson.
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From 2019 to 2022, Roberts co-hosted a Saturday morning show on the station. It was only one day a week and could only whet the appetite of Roberts, who wanted to host a daily show.
The job at iHeart helped him chase his dreams. But it didn't pay all the bills as a part-time employee. So Roberts got other jobs at Great Western Bank, Town Financial and Finish Line. It led to long days, with Roberts working from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., sometimes later.
But it was worth it.
“I had an end goal,” Roberts said. “I knew what I wanted to do.”
Opportunities were hard to come by with the station’s morning, lunch hour, afternoon and drive-time slots filled. As Roberts patiently waited for his chance, he became a popular producer on the morning show, which eventually transitioned to Justice and Burnside hosting.
“I knew he had star potential,” Burnside said.
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So did the station, which promoted Roberts when a spot opened up on the drive-time slot. Roberts not only got the job co-hosting the show with Burnside, he also became a full-time employee.
Their new show debuted Aug. 29. It has already become popular with listeners.
And it’s still hard for him to comprehend.
“I’ve had moments where I sit there and go, ‘Holy crap, I get to do this every single day’ and it’s everything I always wanted,” Roberts said.
What makes it even more surprising is that Roberts is doing it in Des Moines. The once temporary stop has become his home.
He’s involved in the community and is the in-game host for Drake men’s basketball games. He plans to be the fill-in emcee for Iowa Wild and Des Moines Buccaneers games. Roberts has even appeared in a local commercial. And he recently got engaged.
“If you would have asked me in 2010, 2011 if I would be in Des Moines, I would have said, ‘Hell no,’” Roberts said. “But Des Moines is home and I’m happy to really start my life now, here.”
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Birch and his son Bodie routinely listen to KXnO on the way the school and on the way home. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
Our Des Moines
Our Des Moines is a weekly feature on an interesting person, place or happening in the Des Moines metro, the kind of gems that make central Iowa a special place. Have an idea for this series? Contact chunter@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Sean Roberts finds home in central Iowa as KXnO radio show host
