Dale Connelly was the mastermind behind Radio Heartland - Minnesota Public Radio's 24/7 Web and HD Radio music service, heard on RadioHeartland.org worldwide and on 91.1 KNOW HD2 in the Twin Cities. He was the host of "The Dale Connelly Show," a weekday morning program which broadcast on Radio Heartland until June of 2010. Connelly was the longtime co-host Minnesota Public Radio's The Morning Show and the creator of its many characters, which were portrayed by the venerable Jim Ed Poole. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Dale decided to concentrate on radio after he realized TV was "a lot of work." He joined Minnesota Public Radio as a journalist in the summer of 1976, but switched to the music department when it occurred to him that the news audience expected to hear stories that were true.