Longtime KONA radio owner, Tri-Citian of Year and hydroplane super fan has died

Dean W. Mitchell, the longtime owner of KONA AM/FM in Pasco, died Nov. 8 after a battle with cancer. He was 89.

While he was best known as the owner of a popular radio station, Mitchell is remembered for his impact on the community. For his efforts to better the Tri-Cities, he was named Kennewick Man of the Year in 1980 and Tri-Citian of the Year in 1982.

Mitchell and his wife, the former Helen Anne Skinner, were high school sweethearts who married in 1955 and made Kennewick their permanent home in 1963 after detours to Boise, Bellingham and Yakima.

The Mitchells were longtime members of Kennewick First United Methodist Church. In a notice to members, the church remembered Mitchell for his dedication to God, to his family and to his church. Helen Mitchell died in January 2022.

Water Follies fan

He was an early booster of hydroplane racing on the Columbia River, now a staple of the summer event schedule. Boat races were an untested idea in 1966, when the first Atomic Cup took place. Mitchell wanted the event to succeed and put the full force of KONA behind the effort to ensure it did.

He sent his radio team to broadcast every aspect of what is now the Water Follies Columbia Cup.

In 2004, he reflected on the humble beginnings in a Tri-City Herald retrospective.

“We felt it was going to be hopefully a big part of community activity. We kind of mirrored what Seattle did for Seafair back then,” he told the paper. In the years that followed, KONA did more to broadcast the races than any other radio station.

As at the Herald for many years, boat race week was sacred to KONA. Staffers weren’t allowed to take vacation during boat race week.

Mitchell said it took 15 to 17 people to cover the 2-plus mile shoreline. His team interviewed drivers in the Lampson Pits and provided play-by-play from the west end turn, the east end turn and from the Pasco side of the river.

“I don’t think anybody did more from beginning to end,” Mitchell said in 2004, three years after he sold the station.

Michael McDonnal, a 25-year KONA employee, said he moved to the Tri-Cities in 1999 because he was convinced Mitchell would be a good employer and for his commitment to local journalism — Water Follies, high school sports, city council meetings and “all of it.”

McDonnal joined KONA as a morning show host, a role Mitchell was filling until McDonnal signed on. It was an unusual arrangement, but an educational one.

“Dean was like a father to the radio station and a father figure to all those who worked there,” he said. More than 20 years after Mitchell sold the station, McDonnal said the strength of the team he built was evidenced by the ongoing alumni functions that took place each month.

Board service

In addition to running his radio business, Mitchell served on the boards of Banner Bank, Kennewick Housing Authority, the Columbia Basin College Foundation, the Tri Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau and what was then known as the Tri-City Industrial Development Council (or TRIDEC, which later dropped “industrial” from its name).

The Mitchells were supporters of Columbia Basin College in Pasco, where they established the Dean & Helen Mitchell Endowed Scholarship fund to support nursing students.

CBC hailed Mitchell a tireless advocate for CBC students.

“While we will miss him, we are honored to help carry on he and Helen’s legacy at CBC through the students they are helping with their scholarship,” it said in a statement.

Civic honors

He was named Kennewick Man of the Year in 1980, alongside Jane Foreman, now retired from TRIDEC, and was Kennewick Woman of the Year. Foreman recalls their paths crossing constantly when they were both involved with that event.

“Dean was a remarkable person, a friend to many and a tremendous advocate for the Tri-Cities,” she said. “He will be greatly missed.”

Mitchell would serve as president of the Man of the Year program for about two decades. Marv Kinney was his vice president.

“Dean was always there and helpful and a great guy to work with,” Kinney said.

Mitchell was the longest serving past Man of the Year prior to his death. His involvement in the community was bottomless, said Kirk Williamson, who manages the organization. .

“He was a terrific broadcaster. He made sure that he was involved and his station was involved in just about everything that mattered in the Tri-Cities,” Williamson said.

Two years after being named Kennewick Man of the Year, Mitchell was named the 1982 Tri-Citian of the Year. The title, given jointly by local chapters of Rotary International and Kiwanis International, recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding “Service Above Self.”

He served as chair of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters in 1983-84 and was named its 1999 Broadcaster of the Year for service to the community and the broadcast industry.

Mike Berriochoa, KONA news director for 16 years, recalled Mitchell for his integrity and compassion.

“Dean led his staff by example, serving the public interest. He never lost sight of that commitment, whether serving through his business or his personal life,” he said in a statement to the Herald.

Mitchell is survived by his three children, David Mitchell, Doug Mitchell and Lisa Cutter, along with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mueller’s Tri-Cities Funeral Home is handling his service arrangements.

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