In the sparsely populated areas of the Midwest, some women were able to advance professionally in radio broadcasting as regional leaders in the industry. Such was the case with Helen S. Duhamel.

     During the Depression of 1929, Helen Duhamel, at that time a mother of two small children, found herself in a unique position. Her father-in-law, Alex Duhamel, the owner of the Duhamel Trading Post in Rapid City, South Dakota, was facing near-bankruptcy and turned to her for advice. She encouraged her father-in-law to hold on to his business. During the next two years, Alex Duhamel managed to stay afloat, but he finally asked Helen Duhamel to take over. Using her background as a bookkeeper and seeking advice from the best businessmen in Minneapolis, she devised an innovative plan. By dividing the Trading Post building into smaller sections, she was able to sell some of the units and rent out others. By 1937 she had paid off the mortgage, and the Duhamel Company was out of debt in only five years. By 1940, Helen Duhamel had bought out all the other Duhamel heirs and owned the Duhamel Trading Post free and clear. Located near Ellsworth Air Force Base and Mount Rushmore, the Trading Post prospered during the war years of the 1940s.

     From the inception of the first radio station in Rapid City in 1936, Duhamel recognized its potential as a profitable business. As a retail merchant, she had invested in radio advertising and found it an important factor in the success of her business enterprises. In 1943 she became a stockholder in Black Hills Broadcasting, which included KOBH Radio.

     Observing the growing interest in radio, Duhamel began purchasing more and more stock in KOBH Radio, which became KOTA in 1945. By 1954 she had bought out all the other stockholders. When attending early broadcasting conferences, she was the only female owner of a radio station present.

     Both KOTA and KOBH Radio had original offices in the Alex Johnson Hotel across the street from the Duhamel Trading Post in downtown Rapid City. The station was set up on the 10th floor, with its offices in the solarium on the 11th floor. After Duhamel's acquisition of the radio station, the operation was eventually moved to new headquarters above the Trading Post.

     Near the end of World War II, the radio station applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to expand from a tiny 150-watt station to 5,000 watts. U.S. Representative Francis Case of South Dakota assisted in getting the needed approval. He discovered that the military used the local radio station signals as a homing device for a guidance system at night. By approaching the War Department, Case was able to ensure FCC acceptance of the KOTA application. On 1 January 1945, the application was accepted. The call letters were changed to KOTA, and the station logo was changed to "KOTA-Chief Signal Station in the Old Sioux Nation."

     KOTA Radio became a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) affiliate, and the stockholders purchased a used transmitter and built three directional towers south of town on Highway 79.

     Duhamel expanded her radio operations to include television. In order to bring live network TV to South Dakota, she installed the world's longest privately owned microwave system. In 1966, as an equal partner in South Dakota Cable, she brought cable television to rural South Dakota.

     In 1976 Duhamel was elected to the South Dakota Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. In 1991 she was also selected to be included in the Nebraska Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. Helen S. Duhamel died in 1991 at the age of 87. Bill Duhamel, her son, continues to head the highly successful, privately owned Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises.