Don Shelby

Shelby was born and raised in Royerton, Indiana, near Muncie.^[1][5] He was a high school basketball standout.^[5] He attended the University of Cincinnati for two years, but left to enlist in the United States Air Force.^[5][6] He met his wife, Barbara, when he was stationed at Bolling Air Force base in Washington, D.C., where Barbara worked as an administrative assistant.^[1][5] Shelby was honorably discharged in 1972 after serving four years.^[5] He worked in Charleston, South Carolina and Houston, Texas before arriving in Minneapolis.^[5]

Shelby joined WCCO-TV in the summer of 1978 as a news reporter.^[5] After continued work as a reporter, Shelby began assuming anchor responsibilities in greater capacity, eventually assuming the primary anchor chair from Dave Moore. Shelby was the chief architect behind WCCO's "I-Team" segment, which spotlighted current issues, both local and on a larger world scale, with rigorous investigative journalism. After suffering a mild stroke in early 2004, Shelby returned to news reading duties by the end of that year. In 2009, Shelby was reported to make US$1 Million, before taking a 10% pay cut in 2010 to help WCCO trim costs.^[6] Shelby retired from television after his final WCCO-TV newscast on November 22, 2010.^[7][5]

During a Minnesota-themed segment of The Late Show with David Letterman, the camera cut to the WCCO newsroom. Don Shelby turned to WCCO co-anchor Amelia Santaniello and said, "Amelia, I have a gopher in my pants and his name is Carlos."^[8]

Shelby covered numerous international conflicts as a correspondent, including the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Iraq War. Major General Richard Nash, commander of forces in the southern half of Iraq, referred to Don as "our Ernie Pyle."^[9]

In February 2006, Shelby began hosting a series of video essay segments entitled "In The Know" (later renamed "Good To Know"), during the station's 10:00 newscast.^[10] These segments sometimes touched on political, religious and other topics, usually with the same pointed journalistic style of Shelby's earlier "I-Team" efforts.

In April, 2006, Shelby's environmental series "Project Energy" began airing on WCCO.^[11] The regular news segment focused on climate change, energy consumption, and conservation was one of the earliest examples of local broadcast journalism focused on climate change.

From 2000 through 2009, Shelby undertook a dual responsibility of hosting an afternoon radio show on WCCO (AM) which ended at 6:00, immediately after which he anchored the TV newscast (also simulcast on radio). He partnered on the radio with WCCO radio news anchor Jeff McKinney. In June 2009, Monday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya took over the 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. time slot, with Shelby moving to the early afternoon drive, then sharing the microphone with Michelle from 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.^[12][13] Shelby's final radio show took place on December 11, 2009.^[14][15]

Shelby has played an active role in the preservation and maintenance of the Mississippi River. Through his WCCO-TV segment entitled "Project Energy", Shelby has investigated energy conservation, renewable energy, and alternative fuels.^[16] Shelby has also given his time as an on-air representative for a number of pledge drives on behalf of the local PBS station TPT (KTCA), as well as narrated the third installment of "Lost Twin Cities", a TPT produced documentary. He appeared in "America Unearthed".^[17]

Don appeared in the Lab Theater's production of Rocky Horror, appearing with numerous Guthrie actors in a performance of 8 at the Varsity Theater in 2011.^[18] He was a featured actor in Safe at Home at the Mixed Blood Theatre.^[18] He has performed the character of Mark Twain more than 200 times, in shows at performing arts centers throughout the state of Minnesota.^[18] He also has performed as Mark Twain in New Orleans and aboard the Delta Queen Riverboat on the Mississippi River in St. Louis.^[18] In November 2022, Shelby began acting in “Love Letters” with Nancy Nelson at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.^[19] The run was so successful that it returned the following February and is slated for a third run as of October 2024.^[20] It ran again in the fall of 2025 and is exprected to return again in February 2026.^[21]

• Emmy (2010 - Best Anchor, 2021 - Narrator)^[22][23]
• George Foster Peabody Award (1984^[24] and 1997^[25])
• Columbia DuPont Citation
• Scripps-Howard Award
• Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Service Award
• Distinguished Minnesotan Award (2009)^[26]
• Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian of the Year, and honored by B'nai B'rith with the Great American Traditions award
• National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle
• International Radio and Television News Directors First Place Award^[27]