HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh has died.
His wife Kathryn reported on his program Wednesday morning that her husband succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 70. Rush Limbaugh was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom during then President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech a little more than a year ago.
The Cape Girardeau, Missouri native was the 14th recipient of the honor. Limbaugh's national program started in 1988 and KWBW was one of its early affiliates and has continued to carry the show ever since.
In late 2001, he acknowledged that he had become almost completely deaf, although he continued his show. He was able to regain much of his hearing with the help of a cochlear implant that year.
Limbaugh had been battling stage 4 lung cancer and acknowledged it was terminal this past October. Limbaugh disclosed his cancer diagnosis in February of 2020.