Dale Olmstead, age 70, formerly of Fosston, died suddenly on December 28, 2018 in Port Charlotte, FL.
The family will be traveling back to Minnesota for a celebration of life that is being planned in Fosston on June 22, 2019.
Dale was born in Fosston on October 3, 1948 to Albert (Bob) and Mildred (Olson) Olmstead. He grew up on the family farm outside of Fosston, graduating from Fosston High School in 1966. He attended the University of Minnesota-Crookston in its first year of existence and graduated from Brown Institute, where he learned to be a broadcaster. During Dale’s time at the U of M-Crookston, he met his wife, Connie (Aker). They were married in Crookston in 1968. Together they had two children.
Dale’s career in broadcasting moved him all around Minnesota, culminating in starting his first radio station in 1979, KKAQ, in Thief River Falls. He went on to build KKCQ and KKDQ in his hometown of Fosston. But broadcasting wasn’t his only business venture. Over the years, he owned a print shop, lumber yard, cell phone store, and mortgage brokerage, just to name a few.
After retiring from the radio business in 1993, Dale and Connie moved to the Brainard Lakes area for a few years. From there, they moved all around the Twin Cities then back to Princeton. Finally, they followed their family to Florida in 2017.
Dale kept busy with a variety of hobbies. He had his pilot’s license for several years, grew grapes at the vineyard he planted at his cabin in Fosston, spoke to people all over the world on his ham radio, and built everything from a toy plane to a dresser in his shop.
Dale leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Connie, of Port Charlotte, FL, daughter Gina (Maurice) Grover of Venice, FL, and son Eric (Leanne) of Cape Coral, FL. He also leaves behind his three adored grandsons, Bergen Grover, Jackson Olmstead and Sam Olmstead. He was proceed in death by his parents.