There are radio conferences.
There are conventions.
There are industry gatherings where you pick up a badge, attend a few panels, shake some hands, exchange business cards and head for the airport.
And then there is The Conclave.
For generations of broadcasters, The Conclave has been something entirely different. It has been part classroom, part reunion, part career fair, part therapy session and occasionally part late-night gathering where somebody told a radio story that absolutely, positively could never appear in a trade publication.
This September, On The Dial will be there.
And we’re not sending somebody to Minneapolis to grab a couple of quotes and call it a day.
President & Publisher Steven Mills and Senior VP/Editor Kevin Fodor will both be on-site September 15–17 in Minneapolis for The Last Conclave.
We’re coming to talk radio.
We’re coming to talk programming.
We’re coming to talk talent.
We’re coming to talk formats, ownership, technology, AI, digital, ratings, revenue, personalities, consolidation, localism and where this incredible business goes from here.
We’re coming to see old friends and make some new ones.
And most importantly:
On The Dial is coming to cover the entire event.
Because if this really is The Last Conclave, somebody better document the hell out of it.
This One Means Something
The Conclave isn’t simply another conference disappearing from the industry calendar.
For countless radio people, The Conclave helped build careers.
Especially across the Midwest.
Long before LinkedIn.
Long before Facebook.
Long before somebody could DM a major-market programmer from their bedroom.
Long before every broadcaster carried an entire professional network around inside a phone…
you showed up.
You went to Minneapolis.
You walked into The Conclave.
And suddenly the walls separating Market 150 from Market 15 didn’t seem quite so tall.
A young personality could meet the programmer they’d admired from a distance.
A small-market PD could sit beside a major-market executive.
Somebody looking for their next opportunity could meet the person who would eventually give it to them.
And sometimes a conversation that started in a hallway became a friendship that lasted decades.
That’s The Conclave.
📅 Dates: September 15–17, 2026
📍 Location: Bloomington, Minnesota — Minneapolis/St. Paul area
🏨 Venue: Crowne Plaza Minneapolis International Airport / Crowne Plaza Aire
📍 Address: 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN 55425
The conference will feature industry sessions, programming discussions, networking, conversations about the future of radio and a major celebration of Conclave history. Announced programming includes sessions involving Paige Nienaber, Kelly Doherty, Sean Ross, Joel Denver, Greg Strassell and Jeff McCarthy, along with the presentation of six Rockwell Awards as The Conclave closes its remarkable run.
Radio Careers Were Built in Those Hallways
That’s what younger broadcasters need to understand about gatherings like this.
The session was important.
But sometimes the hallway was even more important.
The elevator.
The hotel lobby.
Breakfast.
Dinner.
The conversation after the panel.
The person who said:
“Send me your aircheck.”
The programmer who remembered your name six months later.
The broadcaster who introduced you to somebody else.
The mentor who gave you ten minutes and somehow changed the next ten years of your career.
The Conclave created those moments.
Over and over and over again.
The Radio Business Has Changed Dramatically
Look at what we’re talking about today.
Streaming.
Podcasting.
AI.
Digital video.
Social media.
Connected cars.
Voice tracking.
Remote talent.
Centralized programming.
Creator economies.
New measurement technologies.
Changing ownership models.
Entirely new ways of distributing audio.
The radio business of 2026 would look almost alien to somebody walking into The Conclave decades ago.
But there’s one thing technology hasn’t replaced:
People.
Relationships still matter.
Mentorship still matters.
Ideas still matter.
Being in the room still matters.
Looking somebody in the eye still matters.
And sitting around talking radio with people who actually understand why you’re completely obsessed with this business still matters.
That’s why we’re coming.
Steven Mills and Kevin Fodor Will Be There for On The Dial
This isn’t simply an On The Dial appearance.
We’re going to work.
President & Publisher Steven Mills and Senior VP/Editor Kevin Fodor will be there throughout The Last Conclave talking with the people who make this industry move.
Programmers.
Personalities.
Executives.
Consultants.
Creators.
Owners.
Managers.
Syndicators.
Technology companies.
Young broadcasters trying to break through.
Veterans who helped build the business we’re inheriting.
We want to talk with all of you.
Tell us what you’re doing.
Tell us what you’re building.
Tell us what worries you about radio.
Tell us what excites you about radio.
Tell us where you think this industry screwed up.
Tell us where you think it’s getting things exactly right.
Tell us what nobody else is talking about.
If you’re doing something interesting in this business, come find Steven and Kevin.
Because On The Dial isn’t going to Minneapolis merely to report that The Conclave happened.
We’re going to cover what happens inside it.
And Yes, We’re Planning Dinner
Because there’s another idea we’re working on.
Somewhere during the September 15–17 gathering, On The Dial is going to try to get a group together for an informal dinner close to the venue.
Nothing complicated.
Nothing corporate.
No keynote.
No presentation.
No PowerPoint deck standing between you and your food.
Just…
radio people around a table.
Steven Mills.
Kevin Fodor.
Friends of On The Dial.
Conclave attendees.
Industry veterans.
Young broadcasters.
People we’ve known forever.
People we’ll meet that week.
We’ll eat.
We’ll laugh.
We’ll tell stories.
We’ll probably argue about programming.
Somebody will insist radio was better in 1997.
Someone else will defend PPM.
That person will immediately be asked to leave.
We’re kidding.
Probably.
And eventually somebody will lean across the table and begin a sentence with the five most dangerous words in broadcasting:
“You cannot put this online…”
Now THAT sounds like a Conclave dinner.
Keep watching this space.
We’ll announce the details once everything is finalized.
There Is No “I’ll Go Next Year”
And this is the part that hits differently.
This is The Last Conclave.
There isn’t another one waiting next September.
There isn’t another opportunity to say:
“I’ll make Minneapolis next year.”
This is it.
September 15–17, 2026.
One final gathering.
One final chance to walk into those rooms.
One final opportunity to reconnect with the person you haven’t seen in 15 years.
One final chance to shake the hand of somebody who helped your career and say:
Thank you.
One final opportunity to meet somebody just beginning theirs and say:
Keep going. We still need you.
A Personal Note From Steven Mills
I’ve spent most of my adult life in this business.
I’ve been behind the microphone. I’ve programmed stations. I’ve watched companies change, formats disappear, careers explode, careers collapse and people somehow find the strength to reinvent themselves and come roaring back.
Today, I have the privilege of serving as President and Publisher of On The Dial, alongside Kevin Fodor and the people helping us build something we’re incredibly proud of.
And through every chapter of my career, I’ve learned something.
The greatest gift radio ever gave me wasn’t the microphone.
It was the people.
The mentor who answered the phone.
The programmer who took a chance.
The coworker who became family.
The competitor who became a friend.
The person who called after the layoff.
The person who celebrated the next job.
The engineer who somehow got us back on the air.
The personality who made everybody laugh when the entire building desperately needed it.
The people who understood why this strange business gets into your bloodstream and apparently never leaves.
The Conclave has represented that spirit for generations.
That’s why Kevin and I will be there.
That’s why On The Dial will be there.
And that’s why we’re going to cover the living daylights out of this thing.
We Want to Hear Your Conclave Story
When you see Steven Mills and Kevin Fodor, come say hello.
Seriously.
Don’t walk by thinking we’re busy.
We’re there to talk to you.
Tell us about your first Conclave.
Tell us who you met.
Tell us who hired you.
Tell us about the session you’ll never forget.
Tell us about the friendship that started there.
Tell us about the completely insane thing that happened at 1:47 in the morning that you’ve somehow managed to keep off the internet for 25 years.
Actually…
definitely tell us that one.
The Last Conclave shouldn’t simply document where radio is going.
It should remember where we’ve been.
Let’s Take This Thing Out in Style
Minneapolis.
September 15–17.
Steven Mills will be there.
Kevin Fodor will be there.
On The Dial will be there.
We’ll be covering the sessions.
Talking with the industry.
Meeting the personalities.
Catching up with programmers.
Talking about the future.
Remembering the past.
And somewhere in there, we’re going to get a bunch of radio people around a dinner table and celebrate this crazy business the way it deserves to be celebrated.
Because when that final session ends and everybody eventually starts heading home, we don’t want to wonder whether we adequately celebrated what The Conclave meant.
We want to look around one final time and say:
Damn. We did The Last Conclave right.
Radio has given The Conclave decades of stories.
The Conclave has given radio decades of relationships.
Now we’ve got one more chapter to write.
On The Dial intends to be there for every damn page of it.
See you in Minneapolis.
— Steven Mills
President & Publisher, On The Dial
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