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Hubbard and Company (Twin City Barber College) received the call letters WAMD at their request on the date the Radio Division of the Bureau of Navigation, U.S. Department of Commerce issued a new broadcast station license at Minneapolis, Minnesota. On February 13, 1925, the Bureau authorized the new station to operate with 500 watts on 244 meters (equal to 1230 kilocycles). WAMD's inaugural program was heard February 13, 1925 from the Marigold Gardens, 12 Grant Street at Nicollet. It broadcast from a small room adjoining the popular dance hall which provided Hubbard and Company a small transmitting room in an adjacent structure "to broadcast orchestras appearing at the Gardens," and also put up the antenna poles atop its building. WAMD presented dance band music programs 5 nights a week.

By May 1925, WAMD's license was issued jointly to Hubbard and Company and to the Twin City Barber College, but, on July 24, 1925, a new license was issued to WAMD in the name of Hubbard and Company (a partnership). Aviator Stanley Eugene Hubbard, a World War pilot was Station Director of WAMD which, from its inception was :a commercial proposition." WAMD's studio and transmitter location changed in August 1925 when it moved to the Radisson Hotel, located at 49 South Seventh Street in downtown Minneapolis. A studio, 24 ft. by 30 ft., covered with monk's cloth, was installed in the hotel building with two steel masts, 50 feet above the Radisson roof and 75 feet apart, supporting WAMD's inverted "L"-type cone antenna. Its transmitter was placed on the top floor adjacent to the building's elevator hoisting motors. WAMD's technician, under Station Director Stanley Hubbard was M.G. Goldberg.

WAMD's ownership incorporated in March 1926 as The Radisson Radio Corporation. In mid-1926, the station's slogan used both on the air and off was "The Call of the North." While assigned 1230 kilocycles by Governmental license, WAMD on July 12, 1926 "pirated to a different wave" for a period of a week -- that of 294 meters (equal to 1020 kilocycles) -- without authority to do so. On July 22,1926it was reported back on 1230 kilocycles. At this time, radio regulation had broken down, and many station changed wavelengths and raised power levels at will to improve their position once new radio laws were passed. A court ruling in the summer of 1926 held that the Government was powerless, under existing lady (the Radio Act of 1912) to assign frequencies and power levels. WAMD had reportedly "jumped" to 1020 kilocycles in November 1926 and increased its power illegally to 1,000 watts.

Both the Radisson Radio Corporation and Stanley E. Hubbard became joint licensees of WAMD in the spring of 1927. In June 1927, WAMD was assigned to operate on 1330 kilocycles by the Federal Radio Commission and was by now operating with a power of 500 watts. The station suffered a studio fire at its quarters within the Radisson Hotel building in 1927. In late 1927, WAMD still "The Call of the North" was reassigned to operate on 1350 kilocycles and began dividing time on the new dial position with KFOY at nearby St. Paul.

In early 1928, the National Battery Company (L.J. Shields, President and owner) seeking a broadcast station of its own, formed the National Battery Broadcasting Corporation and acquired the Radisson Radio Corporation and entered into a purchase agreement with Stanley E. Hubbard. In February 1928, the national Battery Broadcasting Corporation acquired WAMD and a month later the corporation acquired WAMD's sharetime partner at St. Paul, KFOY. A construction permit was issued in February by the FRC for higher-powered station and the call letters KSTP were assigned to it. Under a license bearing the call letters WAMD. a first test program was undertaken during the post midnight hours on February 27, 1928 from newly constructed transmitting facilities at Westcott, Minnesota. While in its newly installed transmitter there was a capable of 10,000 watts, WAMD was now broadcasting with 2,000 watts on an interim basis. While WAMD's license had been extended through April 1st, KFOY's broadcasts were terminated and its license returned to the FRC for cancellation. On March 29, 1928, WAMD was consolidated with KFOY to form a new station, KSTP. Two licenses were canceled and one new on issued. In early April 1928, new studios were inaugurated in St. Paul, the twin city to which KSTP was now licensed. Studio quarters in the St. Paul Hotel were provided. An associate studio in the Radisson Hotel continued to be used by the merged station. By June 1928, the station's power level was boosted to 5,000 watts.

KSTP joined the NBC Blue "chain" in the fall of 1928 at that network's Twin City affiliate. Its NBC network liaison changed in 1930 from the NBC Blue to the NBC Red network. On April 2, 1931 the town name of Westcott was officially changed to Radio Center, MN. Radio Center, located southeast of St. Paul was the site of KSTP's twin towers and its "T" type antenna system. By August of 1931, a new vertical wire antenna was installed there.

By 1932 KSTP operated 19 hours a day. Kenneth M. Hance former co-owner of a Fargo, ND station became assistant manager of KSTP. He joined the St. Paul station's staff in 1928. Stanley E. Hubbard continued at General manager of the NBC affiliate. The FCC granted a construction permit for KSTP to raise power from 10,000 to 50,000 watts in March 1933.In late 1935 concurrent with the official power increase, KSTP's transmitting site was moved from Radio Center, MN to a new site at Snelling Ave and County Rd C. At that time the new 363-foot uniform taper steel vertical radiator was installed at KSTP's new site, 4.5 miles NW of downtown St. Paul. General manager Stanley E. Hubbard became President of KSTP's licensee in November 1935 replacing L.J. Shields.

Kenneth M. Hance was promoted to Co-General Manager in early 1938. By mid-1938, KSTP's air slogan was "The Northwest's Leading Radio Station." It was now in daily operation from 6am until 1am with NBC Red network programming. In 1939, KSTP raised its day power to 50,000 watts while night power remained at 10,000 watts. Three Truscon 342-foot self-supported steel vertical radiators were erected at a site adjacent to Highway 61 and County Rd C a few miles east of its former site and were placed on the air when the daytime power increase took place. It was now broadcasting two directional patterns day and night from the site. K.M. Hance became KSTP's GM in 1939.

In 1941, KSTP's licensee name was changed from the National Battery Broadcasting Corporation to KSTP Inc. with Stanley E. Hubbard its President and majority owner. A portion of the KSTP Inc. stock was sold to Mr. Hubbard's friends. In the early forties, KSTP's old Radisson Hotel studio in Minneapolis was closed. In 1945, construction began on renovated studio quarters in downtown Minneapolis's "Radio City" Theatre building. the new facilities were opened the following year. Kenneth M. Hance was named Vice President and Treasurer of KSTP Inc. in 1946. On March 20, 1947 KSTP Inc. was fully acquired by Stanley E. Hubbard, who purchased the remaining shares of stock for $825,000.

Studios of KSTP in the St. Paul Hotel were abandoned in early 1948 when the NBC affiliate moved to its new "Radio City" studio and office building at 3415 University Ave S.E., St Paul. The new 3-story structure was designed for future television operation as well, with KSTP's studios and offices located on the ground floor. A 635-foot tower was constructed on the property to support the KSTP-FM antenna and was to provide antenna space for upcoming TV Broadcasts. The KSTP-AM transmitter continued to be situated at a site on Highway 61 and Country Rd C.

K.M. Hance became Executive Vice President as well as continuing as Treasurer of KSTP Inc. in 1949. In 1955, Stanley S. "Stub" Hubbard became station manager of KSTP. His father continued tin the dual position of President and GM. In 1961, a new wing to the University Ave. building was added at a cost of 9 million dollars, providing expanded studios and office space for KSTP and KSTP-TV. In 1962 Stub Hubbard was elected to Vice President and Station Manager. By mid-1964, KSTP started airing a "Quality Music" format from 5a-1a. In 1965, Eugene G. Clark became KSTP's Station Manager. In 1967, Stanley E. Hubbard was elected Chairman of the Board of Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. while Stanley S. Hubbard was currently appointed President and GM. Longtime executive Kenneth M. Hance died at the age of 74 on March 13, 1969.

John J. Nugent was names GM of KSTP in July 1972. In 1973, KSTP adopted an "Adult Contemporary" music format and in January 1974 its 46 year association with NBC came to a close when KSTP became an independent facility. KSTP operated 24 hours a day using the air slogan "15 KSTP, The Music Station" by 1976 from its transmitting site in Maplewood. KSTP was one of the "first generation broadcaster-owned commercial radio stations" in the US at this time. Ownership of Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. was in a family trust on behalf of 82-year-old Board Chairman Stanley. E. Hubbard and his son Stanley S. Hubbard.

In 1980 the station became "News Plus Radio" and in 1982 made the switch from "Adult Contemporary" music to a "News/Talk" programming format. Also in 1982, it joined the ABC Information Network and by August was carrying national talk programming from the new ABC TalkRadio Network.

Studios were moved from St. Paul to Maplewood in early 1985. The stations licensee name was changed in 1985 from Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. to KSTP-AM and John Mayasich was named its new president. The stations NBC liaison ended in 1997 and a year later it affiliated with the ABC Entertainment Network, concurrently dropping programming from NBC's "TalkNet." Sports talk programming was added in 1988.

In 1990, Virginia H. Morris, the daughter of co-owner Stanley S. Hubbard was named GM of the "News/Talk/Sports" outlet. Ginny Morris rose to Vice President and GM in 1992. Also that year, KSTP dropped its ABC Entertainment Network and ABC TalkRadio network affiliations. Founder Stanley Eugene Hubbard, KSTP's chairman of the Board died at 95 on December 27 after a long illness.

Virginia H. Morris succeeded John Mayasich as President of licensee KSTP-AM Inc. in 1998 while continuing as GM. Studios were moved from Maplewood back to St. Paul in 1999.

America's First KSTP-AM 1500 History in the Making

1923 - KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first commercial radio station.

1925 - KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first radio station to employ a full time news department.
- KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first radio network between Chicago and the Twin Cities
- KSTP-AM 1500...becomes the Midwest's first radio station to provide live ringside broadcasts of prize fights.

1926 - KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first 50,000 watt clear channel radio station.

1928 - KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's musical favorite by providing the largest live radio staff orchestra in the nation.

1930 - KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first radio station to affiliate with the UPI.
- KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first radio station to cover a golf tournament live.

1931 - KSTP-AM 1500...becomes America's first radio station to use a mobile short wave radio unit.

Hubbard Broadcast Journalism "Firsts"

Since entering the communications business in 1923, the Hubbard family has pioneered a number of significant news and broadcasting developments. Among them:

1923 - Ex-barnstormer Stanley E. Hubbard returns to the Twin Cities and starts WAMD, the nation's first commercial radio station.

1925 - WAMD originates daily newscasts with Ruel Barlow, head of the University of Minnesota's school of Journalism at the microphone. It becomes America's first radio station with a full-time news department.

1928 - KSTP, created as a successor to WAMD, becomes the first radio station to establish a full-time education department. Its mobile short-wave transmitter is the forerunner of mobile news units.

1929 - When AP and UP (now UPI) refuse to sell their services to radio stations, Hubbard launched the Radio News Association, with bureaus in New York, Chicago, Washington DC and the Twin Cities, plus a correspondent in Los Angeles. UP relents and offers its service to radio stations; KSTP is its first customer.
Hubbard Broadcasting History

1923 - Stanley E. Hubbard founds world's first advertiser supported radio station, 500 watt WAMD (Where All Minneapolis Dances) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

1925 - WAMD establishes Chicago/Twin Cities/Los Angeles news wire using postal telegraph lines.

1925 - WAMD provides ringside broadcasts of prize fights

1926 - WAMD provides first play-by-play broadcast of a hockey game to Midwest listeners

1927 - Hubbard Broadcasting purchases KFOY and exchanges licenses from WAMD and KFOY for new 10,000 watt license

1927 - Hubbard Broadcasting founds KSTP-AM in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

1928 - President Calvin Coolidge presses key in White House to put KSTP-AM on air. Power eventually increases to 50,000 watt clear channel

1928 - KSTP-AM joins "Blue Network" of National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

1929 - KSTP-AM provides first live coverage of a United States Open golf tournament with portable transmitter wheeled around course in daughter Alice Hubbard's baby carriage.

1930 - Hubbard Broadcasting forms first national radio news service, with bureaus across the country, including Chicago, New York, the Twin Cities and Washington, D.C.

1930 - KSTP-AM becomes first independent station in United States to form special events department and equip it with mobile short-wave unit

1938 - Hubbard Broadcasting purchases TV camera from RCA; first TV camera ever sold

1939 - KSTP-TV demonstrates television at Minnesota State Fair where 200,000= people see a TV for the first time

1948 - KSTP-TV goes on air in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and becomes first TV station between Chicago and Los Angeles

1950 - KSTP-TV establishes nation's first seven-days-a-week late night newscast

1966 - KSTP-FM goes on air in Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota

1981 - Hubbard Broadcasting applies to FCC for Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) license and founds U.S. Satellite Broadcasting (USSB).

2000 - KVBM-TV becomes KSTC-TV and together with KSTP-TV creates one of the first major-market duopolies

2000 - Hubbard Broadcasting announces entertainment network MOVIEWATCH

2006 - MOVIEWATCH becomes ReelzChannel. a multi-media brand dedicated to entertaining, informing, direction and connecting fans to everything about movies.

I'm In the Tub, Gone

by Richard James Carlson

Rush my copy of "I'm in the Tub, Gone" to:

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I'm In The Tub, Gone by Richard James Carlson is a collection of authentic suicide letters.

"I'm In the Tub, Gone" author Richard James Carlson

Mr. Carlson, a former police officer, offers us a rather macabre look into the very private world of those who have chosen to end their lives. Their final words are put on paper (errors and all) exactly as they were written. These suicide letters are undeniably chilling, sad, heartfelt, and terrifying. To read them is akin to driving by a car wreck, you can't turn away from it. You can't help but wonder what might have led these poor souls to take their own lives. I'm In The Tub, Gone is a difficult book to catagorize. It is unique, and it is powerful. It is simple and it is moving. It is a stark reminder of how lives can be wasted, of how some people become so desperate, they can see no other way out. Make no mistake, this book is depressing, but it sends a message that no one should miss. Nothing is worth taking your life over. The act of suicide is so devastating to those left behind, and often, those who commit the act, have no idea of the long lasting and far reaching consequences of their actions. I recommend this book, not because it will make you feel good, for surely it won't, but rather for its message. It will help you realize how futile and selfish an act of suicide truly is, and how hard we must work not to ever let this happen to anyone we know or love.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and insightful, December 6, 2004
By
SDCrimefighter "SDC" (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I'm in the Tub, Gone (Paperback)
I think there is a macabe side to all of us. Whenever we hear of a suicide, the first question we ask is always why? But do we really want to know? Do we really want to hear what pushed someone to the brink, to do the unthinkable? "I'm in the Tub Gone" is exactly that. A look at the last thoughts of those who chose to end it all and move past whatever it was that drove them there. Some of the notes are truly sad and crying out for help. Its a shame that their loved ones missed the signs. There are others that are vengeful and mean spirited and are the ultimate act of revenge. Regardless, the book is powerful and gripping and yet at the same time deeply disturbing. Its overall effect is to give us an upclose look at something we really didnt want to see. Is it worth reading? Yes but remember, its not something you will be able to simply put down and forget either.5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insight into the tortured mind, October 19, 2006
By
M. E. HEISNER "Dr. M." (Coronado, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: I'm in the Tub, Gone (Paperback)
Mr. Carlson has successfully assembled the definitive universe of suicide notes offering deep insight into the darkened souls that reach the final conclusion that life is no longer worth living. For professionals working with such distraught patients, this book is a must. Nowhere in literature has any other author captured the entire essence of what it is that compels a person to take his or her life. Mr. Carlson brings his reader face-to-face with the overwhelming sense of helplessness that runs as a common thread through the lives of his suicide victims.

5.0 out of 5 stars It happens more than we know, November 21, 2009
By
Johnny Russell "JR" (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I'm in the Tub, Gone (Paperback)
We all are disgruntled employees in the company of death. Compared to the length of death, life is relatively short, nobody gets out alive. In a homicide, the investigator must determine if the death was the direct result of a killing. I'm In The Tub, Gone explores and tries to distinguish whether victims who chose to voluntarily submit to expire, be it a cry for discern, or recognition, could have been helped. Investigation concluded, empirical evidence logged and entered, suicide or killing nonetheless yields the same result; there is no coming back.

The Post-American World

by Fareed Zakaria

Amazon.com Review

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The one thing that any of us have in common is discovering the truth once and for all. It appears as though everywhere you turn someone is telling you that the government is hiding something. Some important information that we need to find out for us to get through the changes which might be coming our way is not being told. In this 2012 Official Countdown, that information is finally about to be revealed. For anybody who is wondering whether or not the way of life as we know it is going to be different than what your answers are here. Maybe you feel that your survival will depend on on whether you will be spiritual, you are going to find that answer here. For those who enjoyed this particular brief post, you will find the following facts worth it - Gov Auctions.

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Hunger Games Characters Descriptions

• Katniss Everdeen

Katniss Everdeen is the 16-year-old protagonist and narrator of the story. Katniss is normally quiet in school. She lives with her mother, her younger sister Primrose, Primrose's cat Buttercup (which Katniss despises), and Primrose's goat Lady in the poorest district of Panem, District 12, which is in charge of mining coal for the Capitol. Her looks are typical for someone from the Seam (the slums of District 12): long black hair, which she wears in a braid; olive skin; and bright gray eyes. Five years before Katniss became a tribute in The Hunger Games, her father was killed in a mining explosion, and her mother fell into a depression. In order to provide for her family, Katniss began to hunt in the woods, just as her father had taught her. In the process, she becomes hunting partners and friends with Gale Hawthorne.
When it comes time to draw the tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games, Katniss' sister Prim's name is drawn, but Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place, along with the male tribute from District 12, Peeta Mellark. When she is introduced with the other tributes, her dress is "set on fire" by her stylist Cinna. This gives her the nickname "The Girl On Fire", which is used recurrently during the trilogy.

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During the Games, Peeta expresses his love for her on live television, which Katniss assumes is an idea to gain attention from rich sponsors. Later, as they grow closer to each other, it appears that the love is genuine. Halfway through the Games, a new rule is instituted so that both tributes from a District can become winners. However, when only Peeta and Katniss are left, the rule is reversed, in an attempt to force one of them to kill the other, ensuring a more dramatic ending. At that time, Katniss decides that both of them should eat poisonous berries called nightlock, killing themselves, and ensuring the Hunger Games have no winner. As a result, the Games are ended, and both Katniss and Peeta are declared winners, which humiliates the Capitol. This choice makes Katniss a symbol of rebellion for all of the Districts.
Collins has said that Katniss "is a futuristic Theseus." When Katniss, now 17, returns to District 12, she is given a lovely house at the Victors Village, and lives there with her mother and Prim, but continues to visit her family's old home, or as Katniss describes it, "a run-down shack."
Near the end of the trilogy, Katniss helps to end the war, but her sister is killed in an explosion, believed to be set off by the Capitol, right before the end of the war. After a talk with President Snow, she realizes that it was President Coin, the President of District 13 and the new president of Panem, that set off the bombs. Instead of executing President Snow, as had been decided, she kills Coin instead, to avenge Prim's death.
After being exonerated for Coin's death, Katniss later marries Peeta, and they have two children.
Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss Everdeen in the movie, released March 23, 2012.

• Peeta Mellark

Peeta Mellark is the male tribute from District 12 in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. He is a baker's son, very shy but confident, and he states in an interview after the Reaping that he has been in love with Katniss since the first day he saw her. His relationship with Katniss grows throughout the novels.
During The Hunger Games, Peeta is certain that Katniss will win because of her experience in hunting. Peeta defends Katniss and even declares his love for her on public television. Though Peeta is sincere, Katniss does not truly return Peeta's affections; she initially believes he is simply trying to curry favor with the public and with the sponsors, and she still has strong feelings for Gale. They are the last two tributes left at the end of the Games, but rather than fight to the death, Peeta and Katniss attempt suicide, forcing the Gamemakers to declare both of them the victors.

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Catching Fire opens with Peeta "icy" and "unreachable", believing that the affections Katniss showed him during the previous year's Games were a ploy. When President Snow announces the Quarter Quell, Peeta makes a deal with Haymitch to keep Katniss alive and safe - he will volunteer himself in Haymitch's place in order to protect Katniss, despite his intention to save Katniss's life by sacrificing himself. He lies to the Capitol in an effort to try and save Katniss from the Hunger Games by saying untruthfully that they are married and that she is pregnant. During the Quarter Quell, Peeta and Katniss are part of the group that destroys the arena. While rebels from District 13 rescue Katniss, Peeta is captured by Capitol forces. Katniss finds herself willing to kill him to save him from the tortures there.
In Mockingjay, he is tortured physically and mentally in an attempt to "break" Katniss because of her love for him. Although he and others are eventually rescued, the Capitol had tampered with his memories by using tracker jacker venom - a process called "hijacking" - which leaves him frightened and unstable. Believing that Katniss is a muttation, and remembering only a twisted version of their experiences in the Games, Peeta attempts to kill Katniss. With help from District 13 doctors and friends, he slowly begins to regain parts of his real memories, although the process is overwhelming and tedious for him. President Coin sends him on the final mission into the Capitol with the squad of soldiers that includes Katniss, Gale, and Finnick, where he struggles with his memories and mental trauma. It is believed President Coin's intention was for Peeta to become insane and kill Katniss, making her into a martyr. However, Peeta manages to prevent this from happening, even insisting that he be handcuffed constantly in case he loses control and hurts someone. Realizing the danger in which he puts the group and the difficulty he causes them, he asks to be killed when it seems that he will lose control and try to kill Katniss. Katniss fiercely refuses and kisses him, which seems to make him stable. Peeta later votes not to have a Hunger Games featuring Capitol children. When the war ends, Peeta survives and eventually returns to District 12 with Katniss. Later he and Katniss marry, and have two children - a boy and a girl - who are able to live in a world without the Hunger Games.
Peeta's actual age or birthdate are never given, but it is assumed that he is the same age as Katniss, because he was in her grade when he first heard her sing. His favorite color is orange, not like the color of Effie's wig, but like the sunset.
He is played by actor Josh Hutcherson in the 2012 movie.

• Haymitch Abernathy

Haymitch Abernathy is a "paunchy, middle-aged man" who was the victor of the 50th Hunger Games, which occurred twenty-four years before the series begins. When he was 16, Haymitch was Reaped for the second Quarter Quell, where four tributes from each district were forced into the arena. He became an ally to a girl named Maysilee Donner, who was the original owner of the mockingjay pin, but later was forced to watch her die. Katniss relates this to what happened between her and Rue. During the games, he had found his way past a wall of shrubbery and to the edge of the arena, where a force field that flung whatever was tossed at it back blocked the participants from exit. When the Games came down to him and a female tribute, the girl threw her weapon at him; however, the force field sent the weapon back at her, killing her and leaving Haymitch the victor. Within two weeks of his victory, Haymitch's mother, younger brother, and girlfriend were killed by President Snow, as punishment for Haymitch using the force field to his advantage.

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Since President Snow had no one close to Haymitch that he could hold over him, Haymitch is instead "held up as an example" of what happens to those who defy the Capitol.
After winning his games, he became an alcoholic and had spent almost all of his intervening life intoxicated to the point of embarrassment. Being the only surviving Hunger Games champion from District 12 (one of only two in the history of the games), Haymitch was forced to mentor all of its tributes. Therefore, he acted as a mentor for Peeta and Katniss before they entered the Games. He is often sarcastic and anything but sober, which Katniss finds highly irritating. However, when pushed, he emerges as the pair's greatest advocate and shows himself to be highly canny as he guides his protégés in a cleverly designed, highly unorthodox strategy aimed at ensuring the survival of both tributes.
Although she disliked him greatly at first due to his drinking and his harshness, Katniss later realizes that he is tired of seeing children placed under his care for the Games only to die, and also that he cares a lot about Peeta and Katniss. After being in the arena, she realizes that drinking was his form of escape from the nightmares caused by his experiences as a tribute. In the book Catching Fire, it is said that the liquor supply in District 12 had run out, and Haymitch had gone insane, causing him to shake violently and have visions that only he could see (likely delirium tremens). It was left up to Katniss and Peeta to coax him back to health (and get him more liquor). After this incident, Katniss begins to develop a true affection and respect for him. Katniss also realizes that she and Haymitch both think alike, since they were able to communicate through the gifts that he sends her in the arena.
In Mockingjay, Haymitch is forced to go through detox in District 13 since they do not permit the consumption of alcohol. Despite this, he continues to serve as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta.
He is played by Woody Harrelson in the 2012 movie.

• Primrose Everdeen

Primrose Everdeen, nicknamed "Prim", is Katniss's younger sister. She was 12-years-old in The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and 13 in Mockingjay. Like her mother, she had blonde hair and blue eyes.
At the Reaping for the 74th Hunger Games, her name is pulled by Effie Trinket. Her older sister Katniss volunteers to take her place instead. As she leaves for the Capitol, Prim receives a promise from Katniss that she will do all that she can to win the Hunger Games. This promise guides many of Katniss's actions in the game.
In the Hunger Games, Prim is thoughtful, sweet, and somewhat delicate in spite of all she has been put through at a young age. Because of her personality, she symbolizes innocence in the trilogy. She is a skilled healer due to the work she does along side her mother. In Mockingjay, Prim is singled out by District 13 to be trained as a doctor. During Catching Fire and Mockingjay, Katniss sees a change in her personality, as she has become more solemn and mature. Katniss once said that Prim is "the only person I'm certain I love."
In Mockingjay, Prim was sent into the battle for The Capitol to serve as a Casualty Aide by President Coin. During this battle, Prim is killed in a bombing, causing Katniss to go into a deep depression. President Snow later reveals to Katniss that the bombing was caused by the rebels, to galvanize public opinion against the Capitol, which prompts Katniss to execute President Coin instead of Snow.
Publishers Weekly was pleased with the fact that Prim's character expanded in Mockingjay and readers were able to know her better.
She is portrayed in the The Hunger Games film by actress Willow Shields.

• Cato

Distinguishing Characteristics: Innately strong; willingly participates in the Hunger Games

Played by: Alexander Ludwig

Description: Cato is a male tribute from District 2 and one of the strongest, most threatening competitors in this year's Hunger Games. He has trained his whole life for the glory of winning the Games and serves as Katniss's main competition in the arena. For him, the Games is more of an honor, than a death sentence. Cato's confidence and assertiveness makes him all the more dangerous to the other tributes.

• Gale Hawthorne

Gale is an 18 year old who lives in District 11. He is Katniss's best friend and her hunting partner.
Gale is portrayed by Liam Hemsworth in the 2012 film.

• President Coriolanus Snow

The main antagonist of the series, President Snow is the autocratic ruler of the Capitol and all of Panem. Though seemingly laid-back, this hides a sadistic and psychopathic mind. He initially appears in The Hunger Games when he crowns Katniss and Peeta as victors, but he does not speak to Katniss face-to-face until Catching Fire, when he pays her a visit at home and tells her that he is angry that both she and Peeta were allowed to survive the Hunger Games, as their act of defiance (preferring joint suicide to the prospect of one killing the other) has ignited rebellion in several of the Districts. She is too prominent to kill, but he threatens her family and Gale unless she proves to the Districts that her act of saving Peeta was merely that of a love-crazed teenager and was not related to any desire to defy the Capitol. Later, Snow indicates to her that she failed in this, meaning that some or all of his threats will come true. President Snow is described as having very puffy lips, which are most likely the result of an appearance-altering operation that is very popular in the Capitol. Katniss describes him as exuding a smell of blood and roses. In Mockingjay, it is revealed that the smell of blood is due to mouth sores he got from one of the poisons that he used to kill people in his monomaniacal efforts to control Panem. He drank the poison in order to allay suspicions, then took the antidote, but they could not cure him of the sores. He also smells strongly of genetically enhanced roses. He always wears a white rose in his lapel to cover the scent of blood. The strong smell invariably makes Katniss gag. He is said to have prostituted winning tributes, like Finnick Odair, as forcing them to have sex with wealthy Capitol denizens, under threat of killing their loved ones if they refuse. Snow claims he only kills for a purpose, and he promises Katniss he will always tell her the truth. Whether these assertions are true or not is left up to interpretation by Katniss. He dies at the end of Mockingjay, he choked to death on his own blood from his untreated mouth sores at his own execution, before his sentence was carried out by Katniss. It is also speculated that he was trampled by the crowd in the panic following the assassination of President Coin.
He is portrayed in The Hunger Games film by actor Donald Sutherland.