It is with deep sadness that the KIRO Newsradio family and Bonneville International — along with Dori Monson’s immediate family — announced the sudden passing of Dori at a Seattle hospital Saturday night.
A longtime government and social watchdog, Dori was known by many of his listeners as a boy from the “mean streets of Ballard.” At the time of his death, Dori was KIRO-FM’s highest-rated midday show host.
“We join Dori’s family in mourning his passing,” said Cathy Cangiano, senior vice president and marketing manager for Bonneville Seattle. “We are streaming a tribute to honor and celebrate his life and legacy.”
Doris began her radio career at the University of Washington in 1982 and has worked with KING-TV, KING Radio and KIRO since the early 1990s. A committed and passionate advocate for women’s sports for 25 years, Dori coached Shorecrest High School to its first girls’ state basketball championship in 2016.
Despite ailing health in recent years, Dori enjoys deep-sea fishing with her fellow KIRO and ESPN colleagues and plays pickleball with her family. He is survived by a wife, three grown daughters, a dog and many loyal listeners of his shows.
The main political direction of his program began in the 1990s, roughly in midfield. He often sided with then-President Bill Clinton against the conservative Republicans who ruled Congress, especially during the impeachment hearings following the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He said he voted for Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. However, his show became decidedly conservative around the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, enthusiastically supporting the Iraq invasion and accusing global warming activists of being “fake global warming worshippers.” He also once asked Washington state Democratic leader Dwight Peltz if he was a communist.
Regular features of the Dori Monson Show include a weekly “One-On-One vs. Nuns” segment, in which Monson tests his football senses with two nuns, sisters Kath Silverthorn and Cele Gorman of the Archdiocese of Seattle, each Everyone is predicting the NFL game next Sunday. “I wanted to find the most inappropriate people that we would never normally associate with football analysis,” Monson explained. “I think it’s either a Sherpa or a nun, maybe it’s easier to find a nun.”
