Meet Jillene

Hi, new Magic 98 friends! I’m the newest voice you’ll hear on Magic. My name’s Jillene Khan!

The first thing I do when I meet a new friend is spend at least 90 seconds teaching them how to say my name correctly. Jillene sounds like Jill-eeeen. Think, Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” but “Jo is “Jill.” For Khan, think Chaka Khan (or The Wrath of Khan, for Star Trek fans).

I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota (but don’t hold that against me—I got rid of most purple clothing items a long time ago). Minnesota is where my mother, brother, and most of my family still live, so I’m pretty familiar with the 94 westbound stretch through Wisconsin, since I’ve taken it for holidays, weddings, and necessary mom hugs.

I always knew I wanted to be on the radio. I’m not exactly sure where that dream came from, but I’m glad it picked me! After college, I was lucky enough to work for Tony Fly, a Twin Cities radio legend and someone I grew up listening to. Once I got my foot in the door at that station, I did anything and everything I could to learn and move up the ladder! It paid off, and eventually I hit the airwaves in my hometown.

In 2010, I moved away from home and relocated to the Quad Cities (eastern Iowa and western Illinois) to be on the air full-time at a powerhouse country station, where I continued to fall passionately in love with radio. After a few years, and just when I least expected it, a love like I’ve never known came into my life. My fiancée, Leah, and I have been engaged for three years this Christmas and are looking to seal the deal with a destination wedding in the next couple of years. Leah is from the Illinois side of the Quad Cities, and most of her family is there too. Madison is going to make a great home for us for so many reasons—proximity to our families is just one of them!

Most recent on my tour of the Great Midwest, I was at WKTI in Milwaukee (since 2015), so I’m no stranger to the fact that Fridays equal fish fry, you don’t make plans on Sundays during Packers season, and you’re never more than a few days away from some kind of festival. In the short two years we’ve been here, we’ve fallen in love with Wisconsin, and believe that fate had something to do Madison being the next chapter in our story.

When the opportunity to come to Magic 98 presented itself, I nearly fell off my chair from excitement. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often, and I am so grateful that I was in the right place at the right time to be chosen as the next member of the Magic 98 family! My family—Leah & I and our fur baby, Chester— can’t wait to call Madison home and be a part of something so special at Magic 98!

What else can I tell you about me? I like to be outside. I like most of your Midwest staples: fishing, camping, anything near the water. I like to try things at least once so I can decide whether I like them or not. I am obsessed with dogs and will probably say “hi” to your dog before I say “hi” to you. I like to travel, but don’t get to do it as much as I want to. I love concerts and live music and have kept 95 percent of the tickets to shows I’ve been to. I love to talk to people, share stories, laugh, and enjoy life!

So, that’s a little—well, maybe technically more than a little—about me. For now, you can hear me from noon until 3 every day, and you’ll soon start seeing me around town.

I can’t wait to get to know more about you, and I can’t wait for my family to plant some roots in Madison! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Call the Magic 98 studio line at 321-0098, send me an email at Jillene@magic98.com, or connect with me on Facebook! (I’m on Instagram and Twitter too.)

To read Jillene’s blogs, click here.