Popular sports radio host on 105.7 The Fan in Milwaukee, Bill Michaels, was struck by lightning while broadcasting his midday show last Thursday.
Michaels took his show to Wild Ridge & Mill Run Golf Course in Eau Claire, broadcasting outside for the day when a thunderstorm began to roll in. During the show’s first hour the signal dropped while Michaels was mid-sentence. It was then that the radio host defied the one in 700,000 odds and was indeed struck by lightning, having to leave his Thursday program to get to a hospital.
Michaels returned to the airwaves the very next day, where according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he detailed the incident for listeners.
“We chose to go on the patio because it was supposed to clear up, the fog was supposed to lift,” Michaels said on his Friday show. “The patio has metal tables, kind of a meshy type of patio table. We had a couple together, had some chairs with us. We were under cover, well away from what we believed to be the elements.
“I was sitting at the table … as Joe and I were having this conversation. A lightning strike had taken place. It wasn’t directly to me, but it had taken place in the area. There was enough energy – I don’t know how to put it – but it hit me. It jolted me, I guess, is the best way to put it. It burned my arms, burned my fingers and found out later it had blown out through my shoe.”
“I casually got up, told a few people we’re off the air, I can’t do the show,” he said. “We’re probably going to head back to the studio. I just need to know the location of the nearest hospital, because I think I’ve just been hit by lightning.”
The show’s producer, Joe Zenzola took over after the lightning strike, CBS 58 sports director, Kevin Holden joined the show soon after.
Not only did Michaels return to his radio show and broadcast outside from Eau Claire again the very next day, but after the host was released from the hospital Thursday, he was on Twitter during the Packers preseason game and writing a blog post detailing the team’s need to acquire Khalil Mack from the Raiders.
Michaels broadcasts his show weekdays from 10am-2pm on 105.7 The Fan in Milwaukee and on other stations in Wisconsin through regional syndication, the state where he has been a radio mainstay since 1999.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.