Josh Hakala
Fill In HostJosh Hakala, a lifelong Michigander (East Lansing & Edwardsburg), comes to Michigan Radio after nearly two decades of working in a variety of fields within broadcasting and digital media. Most recently, he worked for Advance Digital where he managed newspaper websites from across the country, including MLive.com. While his resume is filled with sports broadcasting experience (Big Ten Network, 97.1FM The Ticket, 610AM WIP etc.), radio reporting (90.1FM WRTI) and odd jobs (Editor for the FIFA video game series for EA Sports), he brings a passion for news and storytelling to the Stateside staff.
Josh is also a proud graduate of Lansing Community College where he got his radio start as the sports director and on-air music host at WLNZ. He also got his BA from Temple University where he majored in Broadcasting, Telecommunications & Mass Media. While he loved his five years in Philadelphia, he returned to his home state of Michigan in 2008 where he is happy to find people don't sing the The Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song whenever you tell them where you live (West Philadelphia).
When he is not at Michigan Radio, he runs TheCup.us, a media outlet that covers the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, one of the oldest soccer tournaments in the world where amateur teams and the top professional teams all compete in a March Madness-style competition. He also does freelance play by play announcing for just about any sport (yes, even water polo) and has a massive music collection as he clings to his CDs and vinyl records. He currently lives in Ann Arbor with his wife (the midwife) and three kids, two of which figured out a way to be born on the same day.
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In 1964, when legislators in Michigan created a state minimum wage, the idea was to create a system where no worker would be paid less than minimum… -
The Ann Arbor-based fusion band Sumkali brands themselves as “Indian music made in America.” Everyone in the band calls Michigan home, but according to… -
One of the internet's biggest podcasts is coming to Ann Arbor to do a live show.At the invitation of the School of Social Work People of Color Collective… -
There’s something brewing around Lansing’s City Hall.On March 4, Lansing’s city attorney Janene McIntyre resigned voluntarily, but the Lansing State… -
Last week, the NCAA finally ruled on Jim Harbaugh's satellite football camps for the University of Michigan. They said that teams are no longer allowed to… -
A few years ago, residents in the southern and western parts of Windsor complained of a mysterious noise. It was described as a “hum” sound that brought… -
When a mass shooting takes place in the United States, it is the duty of the media to report the news. However, a recent article in Mother Jones cites… -
If you’re traveling in Metro Detroit on I-96 you might see something a little out of the ordinary near the Milford Road exit: an orange man.The orange… -
The Marquette area recently received some painful news when LourencoGoncalves, the CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources announced that the Empire Mine would be… -
How many times have you said this while you’ve been on vacation?“I wish we could just live here all the time.”As it turns out, among the thousands who…
