Karl Stefan
Frontispiece of 1952'sKarl Stefan, Late a Representative
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNebraska's3rd district
In office January 3, 1935 – October 2, 1951
Preceded by	Edgar Howard
Succeeded by	Robert Dinsmore Harrison
Personal details
Born	(1884-03-01)March 1, 1884 Žebrákov,Kingdom of Bohemia
Died	October 2, 1951(1951-10-02) (aged 67) Washington, D.C., United States
Political party	Republican

Karl Stefan (March 1, 1884 – October 2, 1951) was aCzech-American politician, newspaper editor, publisher, and radio commentator fromNebraska. A member of theRepublican Party, he representedNebraska's 3rd congressional district in theU.S. House of Representatives from 1935 to 1951.

He was born on a farm inŽebrákov,Kingdom of Bohemia (nowCzech Republic), on March 1, 1884. In 1885 he moved with his parents toOmaha, Nebraska. He was taught in the public schools and later aYMCA night school. He joined theUnited States National Guard, being first a private in theIllinois National Guard and then a lieutenant in the Nebraska National Guard. He was an inspector of telegraphs in thePhilippine Constabulary from 1904 to 1906.

He moved toNorfolk, Nebraska, in 1909 to serve as atelegrapher. He became an editor of theNorfolk Daily News until 1924 and a radio commentator and contributor to newspapers and magazines until 1934. He was president of the Stefan Co. and publishers' agent for magazines and newspapers.

During his years as WJAG's first announcer, Stefan is credited with developing much of WJAG's programming, including a noontime show. Stefan, who announced WJAG's noon news report, opened his daily broadcast with a trademark greeting: "Hello friends. Hello everybody! You are listening to WJAG, the Norfolk Daily News station, and we're located at Norfolk, IN Nebraska. On the air with the regular noon-day program –– the lunch-hour session of WJAG's radio family." One of WJAG's first announcers, Art Breyer, who workedsans pay at the Norfolk station "for the fun of it," labeled Stefan the "backbone" of WJAG. Breyer said Stefan's "personality enabled him to become intimately acquainted with the listeners." In typical charismatic fashion, the local newscaster personalized a livestock quote on one of his noon reports. "Sam Kent," Stefan declared, "I've got good news for you today. Understand the price of hogs is 6½ cents today, and that's going to make everything all right." Stefan's radio persona, says Breyer, "endeared himself to the public." But Stefan had more than an appealing personality to draw listeners, he dispensed information. WJAG's first announcer not only peppered his noon broadcasts with local affairs but also news from the Norfolk Daily News' Associated Press (AP) newspaper wire.

Stefan was not only an announcer and newscaster but also the creator and producer of station programming. In 1922, he originated the "radio family," whose members gathered around a mythical dinner table each noon hour. Its aim, Stefan said, was "an unwritten understanding . . . that the station was to [be] run by its listeners –– the radio family." Mr. and Mrs. George Salter of Norfolk served as the first "father" and "mother." In fewer than two years, WJAG dispensed hundreds of "official" titles to its listeners: mail carrier, banker, chicken-eater, crippled girl (Marie Bentz), sweetheart, corn-king (Art Breyer), hog-man, shoe-man, Scotchman (Bill Graham, and later, Don Bridge of Norfolk), goat trainer, goat milker, wolfhound-man, and mayor (J. B. Hassman of Coleridge). In 1930, WJAG selected a new radio "father." L. B. Musselman, a Civil War veteran and Nebraska pioneer, succeeded the late G. B. Salter as head of the family table.

Stefan was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1934 and later became a member of congressional committee aiding inauguration of thePhilippine Commonwealth Government inManila in 1935. He was a delegate to theInterparliamentary Union inOslo, Norway, in 1939. He was also an official adviser at the 1945United Nations Conference inSan Francisco, California.

He ran and won to represent Nebraska's 3rd district in 1935 and was reelected eight times. He died of acute cardiovascular collapse while in office on October 2, 1951, inWashington, D.C.^[1] He was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Norfolk.

Norfolk'sKarl Stefan Memorial Airport is named in his honor.

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)

1. "Stefan, Karl".The Political Graveyard. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2006.
2. "Stefan, Karl".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2006.
3. Mark Smith, The Pre-Modern Era of Broadcasting at WJAG, Norfolk, NE, 1922–1954, University of Nebraska masters thesis, 1997.

•  This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• 1884 births
• 1951 deaths
• 20th-century American newspaper editors
• American commentators
• American magazine publishers (people)
• American newspaper publishers (people)
• American people of Bohemian descent
• American radio personalities
• Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States
• Czech-American culture in Nebraska
• Newspaper people from Omaha, Nebraska
• Politicians from Norfolk, Nebraska
• People from Světlá nad Sázavou
• Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska
• United States Army officers
• 20th-century United States representatives

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