
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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With all the attention paid to water issues in Michigan thanks to the Flint water crisis, the Detroit News highlighted another problem in the city of…
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Politicians and business leaders over the last decade have referenced the “brain drain” as a major problem for the state of Michigan. College students…
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“I knew at a very young age that I was actually a woman.”Those are the words of Amy Hunter. She is the Transgender Advocacy Project coordinator for the…
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The State Board of Education this month released a set of guidelines and recommendations it says will help provide a safer, more welcoming environment for…
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A Michigan-based environmental organization is taking a new approach to protect a patch of land near the Yellow Dog River in northern Marquette County in…
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Ann Arbor Township and the city of Ann Arbor are both pushing for a federal cleanup of the dioxane plume that has been working its way through the city’s…
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The literary world suffered a significant loss over the weekend when Michigan author and writer Jim Harrison passed away at the age of 78 at his home in…
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There is an effort under way to recall Gov. Rick Snyder. Metro Detroit pastor David Bullock is leading the charge on one of the two petitions that are…
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The Flint Water Advisory Task Force released its final report after a five-month investigation into the Flint water crisis, and according to co-chair Ken…
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Every 10 years, Michigan legislators re-draw our congressional and legislative districts. Once the census numbers are released, the political party in…