Mike Wickett has spent more than two decades talking sports across the Midwest, but the latest chapter puts him exactly where his career has been pointing for the last several years — back behind a live weekday sports microphone in Des Moines. Beginning Tuesday, Wickett will take over the 2 to 5 p.m. window on KXNO 106.3 FM and 1460 AM, bringing a broadcaster who has worked sports radio in Ann Arbor, Milwaukee and Kansas City back into daily local sports talk in the city where he has already built another life, another audience and another chapter of his career.
This one feels right.
Because Mike Wickett is not coming to Des Moines.
HE IS ALREADY HERE.
And that makes all the difference.
THIS IS NOT A NEW GUY MOVING INTO TOWN
Wickett has already done the Des Moines introduction.
He did it years ago.
He came to the market after a career that had taken him through Michigan, Milwaukee and Kansas City, and his first real Des Moines sports-radio foothold came in 2021 with Wickett’s World on ESPN 1350.
That show was billed by the station as its first locally produced sports-talk program and was built specifically around Iowa teams, Des Moines sports and the larger national conversation.
Read that carefully.
Before Lazer.
Before five years of morning-show insanity.
Before Westwood One.
WICKETT CAME TO DES MOINES TALKING SPORTS.
Now he is coming back to it.
THEN SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENED
Because radio careers never move in straight lines.
Wickett was doing his weekly sports show down the hall from Lazer 103.3 when another opportunity developed.
He started appearing with Heather Lee.
Chemistry happened.
Then in April 2021, the sports guy suddenly became half of a Rock morning show.
And it worked.
Wickett later explained that strange route himself — he had been doing Wickett’s World on ESPN Des Moines when the Lazer opportunity emerged.
That is radio.
You think you know what the next job is.
Then somebody opens another studio door.
AND DES MOINES EMBRACED HIM
This part matters.
Wickett did not simply spend five years passing through town.
He became part of the market.
CITYVIEW readers named him a runner-up for Best Radio Personality in its 2023 Best of Des Moines voting, while Lazer 103.3 itself took Best Radio Station.
His wife Leigh McNabb is a West Des Moines native and Iowa State graduate, and the family put down roots in the metro after moving back to Iowa.
So when Wickett says he is back?
This is not a guy flying into Iowa on Sunday night and Googling:
WHAT IS A CYCLONE
😂
He knows the place.
He lives the place.
He has already been on the air here.
That matters enormously in sports radio.
BECAUSE IOWA SPORTS RADIO IS ITS OWN ANIMAL
You cannot fake this market.
Hawkeyes.
Cyclones.
Drake.
Northern Iowa.
Big Ten.
Big 12.
Chiefs.
Vikings.
Packers.
Bears.
Cubs.
Royals.
Twins.
Cardinals.
And depending upon which direction you drive, somebody is convinced one of those teams is the only team any reasonable human being could possibly care about.
😂
KXNO’s existing local programming reflects exactly that regional collision. Its Miller and Condon page specifically describes coverage built around Iowa and Iowa State plus the Big Ten, Big 12 and regional pro teams including the Chiefs, Vikings, Packers, Bears, Cubs, Royals and Twins.
That is the playground Wickett is walking into.
And he knows how to play there.
WICKETT IS A MIDWEST SPORTS RADIO GUY TO HIS CORE
His résumé almost reads like somebody intentionally designed it for this job.
Ann Arbor.
Michigan sports.
Milwaukee.
Brewers.
Bucks.
Packers.
Kansas City.
Chiefs.
News Talk.
Sports Talk.
Des Moines.
Iowa.
His earlier ESPN Des Moines biography notes that his Milwaukee sports work earned him two Wisconsin Talk Show of the Year honors.
He spent years on Sportsradio 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee, beginning there in 2007 after launching his career in Michigan. OnMilwaukee documented him as a morning sports host covering the Brewers, Bucks and Packers during that run.
Then Kansas City came calling.
AND KANSAS CITY GAVE HIM ANOTHER EDUCATION
Wickett moved to 98.1 KMBZ in 2016 as a midday talk host.
That job broadened him beyond pure sports.
News.
Politics.
Culture.
Local issues.
Phones.
Breaking stories.
Real-time conversation.
And he did not completely abandon sports while he was there.
By 2018, Wickett was also part of 610 Sports Radio’s Chiefs postgame coverage, with Arrowhead Pride documenting him alongside its crew following Kansas City games.
That matters.
Because the best sports hosts are not simply people who can recite depth charts.
They know how to host.
There is a difference.
THEN DES MOINES GOT HIM
Eventually the road brought Wickett back into sports through ESPN 1350.
Then mornings at Lazer.
And for five years, sports nerd Mike Wickett spent his mornings talking Rock radio, life, family, whatever insanity Heather brought into the room and, presumably, more sports than the music director requested.
😂
But sports never disappeared.
It was always sitting there.
THEN THIS SPRING HE WENT NATIONAL
When Wickett left Lazer at the end of March, his next move took him onto Westwood One Sports.
That put him behind a national sports microphone on weekends.
And there is current evidence that the gig was very real and very active this summer.
In August, Wickett hosted multiple three-hour editions of Westwood One Sports Night, discussing NFL, Major League Baseball and college football and interviewing reporters and analysts from around the country.
National stage.
National guests.
National conversation.
Good move.
But something was missing.
DES MOINES.
NOW HE GETS BOTH SIDES OF HIS CAREER BACK TOGETHER
That is what I love about this move.
The sports-radio guy.
The experienced talk host.
The Des Moines personality.
The Midwest lifer.
The national sports host.
All of those versions of Mike Wickett finally collide in one weekday show.
Two to five.
Every day.
Live.
Des Moines.
That is a better story than simply:
KXNO ADDS NEW AFTERNOON HOST
Hell no.
This is a broadcaster coming back to the format he loves in a market that already knows him.
AND THE TIMING COULD NOT BE BETTER FOR KXNO
KXNO is celebrating 25 years as Des Moines’ sports station.
That is significant.
Twenty-five years is enough time for a sports station to become part of the market’s muscle memory.
Games.
Coaching changes.
Conference realignment.
Cy-Hawk weeks.
March Madness.
Drafts.
Trades.
Great seasons.
Awful seasons.
Calls somebody wishes they could erase from the logger.
😂
And as KXNO marks that anniversary, it is adding somebody who already understands the tradition of local sports conversation in Iowa.
That feels appropriate.
KXNO HAS ALWAYS WORKED BEST WHEN DES MOINES IS IN THE ROOM
Look at the history of the brand.
Murph and Andy.
Miller and Condon.
Heather Burnside.
Trent Condon.
Local Iowa voices.
Local writers.
Local coaches.
Local teams.
KXNO has national programming, certainly.
Dan Patrick works.
FOX Sports works.
There is room for national conversation.
But the station becomes indispensable when something happens in Iowa and listeners know where to go.
That is the difference.
WHEN THE HAWKEYES FIRE SOMEBODY YOU NEED A LOCAL MICROPHONE
When Iowa State wins a huge game?
Local.
When the Cy-Hawk game goes sideways?
Local.
When Drake makes another tournament run?
Local.
When a coach says something ridiculous?
Local.
When the Chiefs break half the market’s heart?
Local.
When somebody needs to explain why the Big Ten has seventeen schools, six time zones and apparently plans to absorb the Moon by 2031?
LOCAL.
😂
That is where Wickett becomes valuable.
AFTERNOON DRIVE IS THE PERFECT PLACE FOR HIM
Two to five is not filler.
This is when stories evolve.
Practice happens.
Press conferences happen.
Coaches talk.
News breaks.
People start leaving work.
Phones become available.
Arguments that started at 8 a.m. have had six hours to get considerably worse.
😂
That is sports-talk heaven.
And KXNO gives Wickett three hours to live in it.
HE ALSO KNOWS HOW TO HAVE FUN
This matters more than people think.
Sports radio can become unbearably serious.
Everybody becomes a general manager.
Everybody becomes a capologist.
Everybody has a spreadsheet.
Everybody wants to explain Cover Two.
Calm down.
😂
It is sports.
It is supposed to be fun.
Wickett understands that.
His older ESPN Des Moines biography actually went out of its way to distinguish him from the screaming-hot-take model, describing a host who wanted conversation with fans rather than manufactured outrage.
Good.
Keep that.
DES MOINES DOES NOT NEED ANOTHER GUY PERFORMING ANGRY SPORTS RADIO
We have enough of that nationally.
Turn on television.
Four people are yelling.
Turn on another channel.
Six people are yelling.
Open social media.
Eight million people are yelling.
😂
Local sports radio should give me something I cannot get from national television.
Context.
Humor.
Familiarity.
Somebody who actually knows why Iowa fans are mad.
Somebody who understands why Iowa State fans remember something from 2002 like it occurred yesterday.
That is local sports radio.
AND WICKETT HAS HISTORY HERE NOW
This is what makes the move feel different from his original arrival.
In 2021, Mike Wickett was somebody Des Moines was learning.
In 2026?
Des Moines already knows him.
That changes the first show.
He does not have to introduce himself for three months.
He can open the microphone Tuesday and get to work.
THE FAMILY CONNECTION MAKES IT EVEN MORE LOCAL
Leigh McNabb grew up in West Des Moines.
She graduated from Valley and Iowa State.
The family has built its life in the metro.
That matters because the future of local sports radio is not simply employing someone who knows the standings.
It is employing someone who gives a damn about the place.
You hear the difference.
ON THE DIAL PERSPECTIVE
I love this move.
Not because Mike Wickett needs another line on his résumé.
His résumé is long enough.
I like it because the pieces make sense.
KXNO needs local sports voices.
Wickett wants to talk sports.
Wickett already lives in Des Moines.
Des Moines already knows Wickett.
KXNO already knows what local sports conversation means.
Put those things together.
TURN ON THE DAMN MICROPHONE.
AND THIS IS ANOTHER ARGUMENT FOR EXPERIENCED TALENT
Radio occasionally acts like somebody with 20-plus years in the business is old inventory.
What a stupid way to look at it.
Experience means somebody has failed before.
Recovered before.
Taken terrible calls before.
Handled breaking news before.
Worked bad ratings books before.
Had great ones before.
Interviewed people who give one-word answers before.
Survived technical disasters before.
That experience has value.
Wickett has accumulated a lot of it.
BUT HE IS NOT COMING BACK FOR A VICTORY LAP
That is important.
This is not some ceremonial homecoming show.
Five days.
Three hours.
Every weekday.
That is work.
You have to prep.
You have to know Iowa.
You have to know Iowa State.
You have to know the NFL.
You have to know what Des Moines is talking about.
You have to create three hours when absolutely nothing happens.
That last one is where the professionals earn their money.
😂
NOW THE REAL TEST BEGINS
Can Wickett make 2 to 5 his room?
Can listeners make him part of the drive home?
Can he bring some of the national perspective from Westwood One into local Iowa conversation without losing the neighborhood feel?
Can he make people call?
Can he make them mad?
Can he make them laugh?
Can he make them come back Wednesday?
That is the job.
AND KXNO COULD HAVE SOMETHING HERE
A guy with Milwaukee sports credibility.
Kansas City talk experience.
Chiefs experience.
National sports-radio experience.
Five years of Des Moines personality radio.
A family rooted in the market.
And a previous Des Moines sports show already in his past.
That is a hell of a toolkit for three hours every afternoon.
THE SPORTS GUY NEVER REALLY LEFT
That may be my favorite part of this.
Mike Wickett came to Des Moines talking sports.
Radio took him on a detour.
Rock mornings.
National sports.
Life.
Kids.
Different studios.
Different microphones.
But Tuesday afternoon, at 2 o’clock, the circle closes.
106.3 FM.
1460 AM.
KXNO.
Live.
Des Moines.
Mike Wickett.
Back talking sports every damn day.
And as KXNO celebrates 25 years of being Des Moines’ sports station, there is something fitting about adding a guy whose own career keeps proving the same lesson radio has taught us forever:
YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW WHERE THE NEXT MICROPHONE IS GOING TO TAKE YOU
But every once in a while…
It takes you home.
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