CHADRON - A hall of fame radio broadcaster from Chadron has passed away.

Evan Slack died Saturday at the age of 86, according to his family.

Slack was already a legend with more than 35 years in broadcasting when KCSR added his daily ag reports for about 4 years from the late 1980s until 1991 when Dennis and Kathi Brown bought the station but couldn’t get the rights to his show.

A Missouri farm boy who dreamed of being a radio broadcaster and pilot, Evan earned a degree in agriculture with a minor in journalism from the University of Missouri and went on to establish Farm and Ranch departments at 2 major radio stations in the Rocky Mountain region.

He earned his pilot’s license in 1967 and used the freedom flying provided to establish strong personal relationships with farmers, ranchers, and radio stations in the region that led to founding his own farm broadcast network, which he just sold earlier this year.

While the Evan Slack Network was based in Denver, his flying allowed him to broadcast from 45 different states and 4 Canadian provinces. He also broadcast from Australia, although he took a commercial flight to get there.

Evan Slack was a pioneer in the modern farm broadcast industry, was a past president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2009.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Condolences may be sent to his family in care of Carolyn Browne, 41329 Laurel Valley Ct, Anthem, AZ 85086.