Murky

President of Illinois seminary to speak at Dubuque's MLK event The president of an Illinois seminary will serve as the featured speaker at Dubu… A Dubuque radio executive said gratitude powers his mission to honor the United States and the military members in its service. “We have to thank them for our freedoms,” Perry Mason said. The general manager of Radio Dubuque, the 66-year-old Mason is a driving force behind two local initiatives that celebrate veterans and showcase America’s patriotism and freedoms — Dubuque’s annual Fireworks & Airshow Spectacular and Honor Flight of Dubuque and the Tri-States. Mason’s yearslong dedication to these efforts to honor America and reward the nation’s veterans are among the reasons that Mason is the recipient of the 2025 Telegraph Herald First Citizen Award. ‘BEST PROMOTER FOR PATRIOTISM AND VETERANS’ Born in Dubuque and a graduate of Hempstead High School, Mason has been familiar to the area’s radio listeners for more than 40 years. He was born into broadcasting — his father, Bill Mason, came to Dubuque in 1958 to work at KDTH radio, then moved to the city’s WDBQ radio. Perry Mason also was born into a family that took service to the nation seriously. His two brothers and his father all served in the military — as well as several uncles. “My dad served in World War II,” Mason said. “He was in the Army Air Corps. He flew P-38 photo recon planes. He flew over Normandy and Omaha Beach on D-Day, taking pictures.” Of approximately 20 photo reconnaissance planes airborne over the Allied invasion site, Bill Mason’s plane was one of only eight to return to base. Mason’s brothers, Rick and Michael, who goes by Mick, both served in the Navy during Vietnam. Perry and his brothers lost a cousin during the Vietnam War. “He was a Green Beret,” Perry Mason said. Mason said he has always recognized military service personnel as safeguards of America’s freedom and independence. “I’ve always known that if it wasn’t for our military and what they do, we might all be speaking a different language,” Mason said. Mason’s gratitude to veterans is evidenced by his work organizing the Honor Flights — trips that provide veterans a way to travel to the nation’s capital for free to see the memorials dedicated to their service — as well as Dubuque’s annual fireworks and air show, according to Dubuque veteran Vern Siegworth, who was among the local residents who nominated Mason to receive the First Citizen award. “Perry has always worked tirelessly to ensure the success of (the fireworks display and air show) and it has been such a great success due in part to Perry’s effort and dedication,” Siegworth wrote. “Perry has also been a driving force and deeply involved with the Honor Flight (in Dubuque) since its inception.” Dubuque veteran Dick Bridges wrote in his nomination that Mason “has been the best promoter for patriotism and veterans.” “There has not been a more patriotic leader,” Bridges wrote. Chad Crabill made note of Mason’s hard work and dedication when nominating the radio executive for the award. “He does not like to take credit for his accomplishments,” Crabill wrote. Ask Mason about his efforts, and he will say that there is no “I” in what he does — only “we.” “There’s a lot of people behind the scenes who make me look good,” Mason said. SON OF LOCAL BROADCASTER BECOMES ‘MR. DUBUQUE’ Phil Arensdorf wrote in nominating Mason for the award that the radio station manager “has earned the distinction from many who surround him as being “Mr. Dubuque.” “Perry empowers others in our community to volunteer in a variety of projects and events,” Arensdorf wrote. “He truly makes a difference in the lives of our family, friends, neighbors and visitors.” Crabill wrote that Mason’s radio career is highlighted by support for numerous community organizations and events. “Mason has had the ability to connect with multiple organizations and citizens in the Dubuque community,” Crabill wrote. Although he grew up the son of a well-known local radio personality, Perry Mason said he wasn’t sure he would follow his dad into broadcasting. “But I always liked (broadcasting),” Mason said. It was another of Dubuque’s longtime broadcasting figures who introduced Perry Mason to local airwaves. “Paul Hemmer gave me my start at WDBQ (radio) when I was 13,” Mason said. “I did one of those high school explorer post-type things and then Paul hired me to be a board op for KIWI, which is now KLYV.” Mason also dabbled in local sports broadcasting. “I did the on-air thing, and then I took a couple of years off and I wasn’t in radio for a while,” he said. Mason had attended the Harry Wendelstedt Umpiring School in Florida — a course conducted by a veteran National League umpire. “I did some umpiring for a couple of years,” Mason said. Mason finally devoted himself to broadcasting full-time. “I started at KAT-FM in October of 1985,” he said. Two years later, Mason married Polly Ann Pusateri. Polly Mason died in February 2015. She was 58. Her obituary jokingly states that she married Perry Mason “because she needed a good lawyer.” Dubuque’s Perry Mason shares his name with a fictional, criminal defense lawyer developed by novelist Erle Stanley Gardner and notably portrayed on television by Raymond Burr from 1957 to 1966. Dubuque’s Perry Mason said references to the lawyer “come up a lot” when people learn the radio general manager’s name. “If you ask my dad, he would say they held a name-the-baby contest (for me),” Mason said. “But as I understand it, my mom always liked the name.” Bill Mason died in January 1987. Perry’s mom, Patricia Mason Conzett, died in October 2018. ‘MAMMOTH COMMUNITY EVENT SEAMLESSLY DELIVERED’ Tens of thousands of people descend upon Dubuque’s Point area every July 3 for an event that has been associated with Mason for nearly 40 years — Dubuque’s annual Fireworks & Air Show Spectacular. “This mammoth community event has been seamlessly delivered by Perry to ensure the celebration of our nation,” Arensdorf wrote in his nomination. Crabill wrote that “Mason manages all the operations of the show including recruiting the air show performers, planning of the air show and fireworks.” Mason works with the Dubuque Jaycees, the city of Dubuque, multiple law enforcement agencies and military officials to craft the event, which annually draws more than 50,000 spectators. “Truly, for a city its size, (the fireworks and air show) is very impressive and has a great economic impact,” wrote Tim Trausch, of Dubuque’s Sons of the American Legion. Mason was working in sales at KAT-FM and KDTH in 1986, when the fireworks show relocated to its current location, near the north end of Kerper Boulevard. “At the time, Dennis Ryan was the general manager at the radio stations and he worked with (then-station employee) Dean Millius and the (Dubuque) Jaycees to move the fireworks,” Mason said. “I kind of took on a leadership role from Dean after the first event (at its new location in 1986).” Mason said he has always strived to frame the event as a salute to people serving in the military. “That was basically the focus that we had for it,” he said. The event evolved and eventually encompassed an air show that has featured P-51 Mustangs, A-10 Warthogs, F-35 fighters and various precision flight squadrons, some with poignant missing-man formations, as well as the U.S. Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights. Airshows are often held at airports, and it was Bob O’Brien, who was the manager of Dubuque Regional Airport at the time, who helped Mason secure the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron for an air show held at the airport in August 1995. “It was a beautiful day — it couldn’t have been nicer as far as the blue sky and everything, but it was 110 degrees in the shade,” Mason said. The heat kept a lid on air show attendance. “Nobody came — it was too hot,” Mason said. Addressing the challenge, Mason worked with the Iowa Army National Guard. “We changed it from doing an air show at the airport,” Mason said. “We incorporated it into the (July 3) fireworks event.” Arensdorf wrote that Mason’s efforts have ensured a continued military presence at the air show, despite tightening defense budgets. “Perry has the Rolodex on the ready and the channels to ensure the armed services arrive, perform, and celebrate everything that the Fourth of July stands for,” Arensdorf wrote. Through the years, Mason has developed an enduring relationship with the U.S. Army Golden Knights. “They came (to the show) for many years,” he said. The Golden Knights recognized Mason for his decades of work on the fireworks and air show event in 2014, when the group made him an honorary Knight. “I was actually knighted down at the fireworks site,” Mason said. With every passing summer, the fireworks and air show event remains true to the mission that Mason and others have set for it — celebrating the United States and the people who protect its citizens by serving in its military. “With this event, (Mason) honors the people who are joining the military and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Paul Ruzicka wrote in nominating Mason for the award. PLOTTING A COURSE FOR HONOR FLIGHTS Honor Flight is a national organization that has flown more than 200,000 veterans at no cost to the veterans to visit military memorials in Washington D.C. The first flights originated in May 2005 in Springfield, Ohio. A local Honor Flight group began sending veterans on the trips toward the end of that decade. “Dennis Avenarius came to our (radio) office back in 2009 and asked if we would be interested in helping put together a comedian event raising funds for Honor Flight,” Mason said. Avenarius was the local coordinator of the flights — known as a hub director — at the time and Mason agreed to become involved. Avenarius retired as hub director after two flights. “I was at all the (committee) meetings and somehow got nominated to take over,” Mason said. The original scope of the program was narrower than today. “When Honor Flights started here, the mission nationally was to get all World War II veterans out to Washington to see the (National World War II Memorial),” Mason said. “We accomplished that mission (after) 10 (local) flights.” The initial local flights also took some Korean War veterans. “And we had a lot of Vietnam veterans along as guardians (chaperones for the traveling veterans),” Mason said. That arrangement enabled veterans of three wars to participate in the local flights, which went on hiatus in 2015 after the original Honor Flight mission of transporting World War II veterans had been fulfilled. Within the next five years, the national mission of Honor Flight changed, expanding participation to all veterans, with priority given to World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans, and Mason and his group announced in February 2020 that local Honor Flights would resume that year. “Then COVID hit,” he said. “We got hundreds of applications but then we had to stop right away before we could even get started.” While COVID-19 pandemic restrictions kept local Honor Flights grounded, applications for veterans to embark on the trips continued to arrive. With the easing of travel restrictions in 2022, Mason and his group announced the resumption of flight. “We had hundreds of applications to go through,” Mason said. Local Honor Flights have continued with two flights annually since they resumed in May 2022. Arensdorf wrote that more than 1,800 local veterans have visited Washington thanks to the local Honor Flight trips. “I’ve been on several trips, and each veteran has a unique experience that can be described as rewarding and therapeutic,” Arensdorf wrote. Trausch wrote in his nomination that the annual Honor Flights are a team effort. “And the whole team will say Perry Mason is the coach and general manager,” Trausch wrote. Veterans on the trips are greeted multiple times by strangers expressing their gratitude. Veterans have shared stories of their military experiences while on Honor Flights that they have never shared with family members. “I have personally seen veterans overwhelmed with emotion in Washington viewing these memorials and have heard many say that the trip helped provide closure to internal struggles they had had while serving and protecting us during their military service,” Crabill wrote. Mason credits the success of the flights — and the community’s financial support of the initiative — to society’s evolving view of military service. “There’s a sense of patriotism that has grown,” he said. “We have to thank the people who have given us the freedoms that we enjoy. This (Honor Flight program) gives us a chance to say thank you.” Mason said he often hears from veterans that someone else who served is more deserving of a seat on an Honor Flight. “I tell them, ‘Hey, you put on a uniform, you did what you were told, you deserve to go on an Honor Flight.” Mason said. Mason said all of the funds raised by the local Honor Flight group supports sending veterans to and from Washington — even donations that might seem small. “One year, a couple of years ago, this mother brought her two little girls in (to the radio station office),” Mason said. “They did a lemonade stand and raised something like $7.23 and brought that money in and gave it to me to get our veterans to Washington. That (generosity) hit me really hard. I still get choked up telling that story.” ‘I GET EMOTIONAL’ Honor Flight trips continue to fuel Mason’s devotion to his causes — celebrating America and its veterans on July 3 and transporting veterans at no cost to them to Washington. Stories from local flights have included reunions that end decades-long family estrangements, veterans who retrieved their military service uniforms from attics years after returning stateside to face spitting war protesters, and veterans who visited relatives’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery for the first time. “I get emotional when I tell these stories,” Mason said. “You get stories like that and you have to keep going.” •