Ida McNeil

Ida McNeil ( Anding; September 8, 1888 – August 13, 1974) was an American broadcaster and the designer of the first state flag of South Dakota. She and her husband, Dana McNeil, founded KGFX, in Pierre, South Dakota, one of the first radio stations in South Dakota, in 1927. She continued to run the station after his death in 1936 until her retirement in 1962. She has been nicknamed "Mrs. Pierre" for her work in broadcasting All amateur licenses were canceled during World War I, and in 1922, Dana secured a standard amateur license for station 9CLS. and officially launched it to the public. At this time there were over 600 broadcasting stations in the United States, including eight others in South Dakota, all on the AM band, as FM and TV stations did not exist until the 1940s.

The McNeils broadcast from their house for the entire time they ran the station. Their first residence was at 504 West Pleasant Drive, but in 1923, they relocated to 203 West Summit Avenue.