    Long-time Panhandle TV broadcaster and newsman Jerry Dishong has died at age 80.
Dishong’s career spanned five decades, all at KDUH – now NBC Nebraska – beginning in the 1960s when the station’s studios were still just south of Hay Springs.
After growing up in Gordon and attending Chadron State College, he was still in his early 20’s when he joined KDUH on a part-time basis in September 1966. He never left, except for a short stint in California to earn FCC licenses required for a full-time job.
By the time Dishong retired in 2018, he had held nearly every job at KDUH, including station manager, program director, news director, anchor, reporter and weatherman.
Legendary for his wry wit and humor as well as his service to the communities and people of the Panhandle, he was named Trail Blazer of the year in 2006 by the Scottsbluff/Gering Chamber of Commerce
Jerry Dishong was honored many times by the broadcast industry, including a Lifetime Special Recognition Award for outstanding contributions to Nebraska Broadcasting by the Associated Press.
      He was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcaster’s Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and just prior to his retirement became only the sixth person to be added to the Golden Circle of the Heartland Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences.Â
The Heartland Golden Circle recognizes individuals who have devoted a quarter of a century or more to the television industry and who have made a meaningful and significant contribution to broadcasting and/or new media.
Jerry Dishong is survived by his wife Margie, their children and grandchildren.