Ron & Kathy Raczkowski are from Mosinee, WI. Ron plays trumpet with the Polish Connection Band and has been playing horn since the 6th grade. He is the brother of our very own Wally Raczkowski. Ron hosted a one hour online polka show called “Polkas From The Barn” along with Jimmy Benaszeski from 2003 until 2011. Their show initially aired on their own website, then moved to the Jammer in 2010. After Ron & Jimmy parted ways in December of 2011, Ron brought his wife Kathy on the air and changed the name of the show to “Polkas In Vogue”. In July of 2014, Ron & Kathy moved to Thursday nights from 8:00pm – 10:00pm ET when Wally & Maryann asked to switch time slots. Their show was truncated in 2022 to the current 8:00pm – 9:00pm time slot due to a change in Kathy’s work schedule.
Kathy grew up in Ripon Wisconsin where her parents would take Kathy and her brother Joe to polka dances every weekend. Kathy and Joe received many trophies throughout the years and still enjoys polka dancing. Ron & Kathy met at Pulaski Polka Days in 1996 and were married in 2000. They have a daughter Kassi. Kathy was on the show from 2012 until work demands forced her to leave the program at the end of 2023.
Polkas In Vogue translated to “Polkas – in the current style”. While they never want to forget the bands from years ago, Polkas In Vogue featured bands of today that kept polka music alive and moving forward.
Due to the demands of his day job and wanting to devote more time as bandleader of the Polish Connection, Ron Raczkowski ended production of this program on February 27, 2025.
