Donald Gilbert Shelby (born May 27, 1947) is a retired American journalist who was a

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

WCCO-TV WCCO-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, broadcasting the CBS network to the Twin Cities area. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

for much of his career. He is regarded as an experienced investigative journalist, as his work has earned two

Peabody award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

s and three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s. He also has won the other three top journalism awards of the United States, including the Columbia DuPont Citation, the Scripps-Howard Award and the Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Service Award.

Early life

Shelby was born and raised in Royerton, Indiana, near Muncie.Gustafson, Amy Carlson
Don Shelby prepares to sign off on 32-year career at WCCO-TV
Twin Cities.com Pioneer Press, November 13, 2010 He was a high school basketball standout. He attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

for two years, but left to enlist in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

.Gihring, Tim
The Last Don
Minnesota Monthly, October 22, 2009 He met his wife, Barbara, when he was stationed at Boling Air Force base in Washington, D.C., where Barbara worked as a secretary. Shelby was honorably discharged in 1972 after serving four years. He worked in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

and

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

before arriving in Minneapolis.

WCCO-TV

Shelby joined

in the summer of 1978 as a news reporter. 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. Shelby retired from television after his final WCCO-TV newscast on November 22, 2010. During a Minnesota-themed segment of

The Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

, 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."

"Good To Know"

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. These segments sometimes touched on political, religious and other topics, usually with the same pointed journalistic style of Shelby's earlier "I-Team" efforts.

WCCO-AM radio

From 2000 through 2009, Shelby undertook a dual responsibility of hosting an afternoon radio show on

WCCO (AM) WCCO (830 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located on Second Avenue South in Downtown Minneapolis. WCCO features a talk radio format, with frequent newscasts a ...

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 ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' sideline reporter

Michele Tafoya Michele Tafoya is an American former sportscaster. From 2011 to 2022, she was a reporter for NBC Sports, primarily as a sideline reporter for ''NBC Sunday Night Football''. She currently works as a political advisor and makes television appear ...

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.Gustafson, Amy Carlson
Michele Tafoya gets WCCO-AM drive-time slot
TwinCities.com Pioneer Press, April 19, 2009 Shelby's final radio show took place on December 11, 2009.

Community work

Shelby has played an active role in the preservation and maintenance of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Through his WCCO-TV segment entitled "Project Energy", Shelby has investigated energy conservation, renewable energy, and alternative fuels. 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 ''America Unearthed'' was an American entertainment television series, the first original series to air on the A&E Networks channel H2. The show premiered on December 21, 2012, and was produced by Committee Films of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The p ...

Stage Acting

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.Don Shelby and Nancy Nelson to Perform LOVE LETTERS at Chanhassen Dinner Theaters This November
Broadway World Minneapolis.St, Paul, October 6,2022 He was a featured actor in Safe at Home at the Mixed Blood Theatre. He has performed the character of Mark Twain more than 200 times, in shows at performing arts centers throughout the state of Minnesota. He also has performed as Mark Twain in New Orleans and aboard the

Delta Queen The ''Delta Queen'' is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in California on the ...

Riverboat on the Mississippi River in St. Louis. In November 2022, Shelby acted in “Love Letters” with Nancy Nelson at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

Awards

*Emmy (2010 - Best Anchor, 2021 - Narrator) *Peabody (1984 and 1997) *Columbia DuPont Citation *Scripps-Howard Award *Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Service Award *Distinguished Minnesotan (2009)

Personal life

Known to many in the Minnesota community as a "jack-of-all-trades," Shelby has many hobbies, including, among other things,

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

. Shelby has been an enthusiastic fan of women's basketball. He is a resident of

Excelsior, Minnesota Excelsior is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. Excelsior's historic commercial district along Water Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the town has many Victorian-era houses. On Lake Minnetonka's ...

, in a farmhouse certified

LEED Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Author

His first book, ''The Season Never Ends: Wins, Losses, and the Wisdom of the Game'', was published on August 30, 2011. It features a foreword by former University of Minnesota men's basketball head coach

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Univers ...

and endorsements from NBA analyst

Ahmad Rashad Ahmad Rashad (born Robert Earl Moore; November 19, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He was the fourth overall selection of the 1972 NFL Draft, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was known as Bobby Moor ...

and author

Will Weaver Will Weaver (born William Weller; 1950 in Park Rapids, Minnesota), is an American author. Background Weaver was raised on a dairy farm near Park Rapids, Minnesota, where his parents, who were of Scandinavian descent, farmed 150 acres. In Weave ...

Health

Shelby had two debilitating strokes in 2004, from which he recovered while he was still in his broadcasting career. He had another stroke in 2021. In 2016, Shelby shared his story of his recovery from alcohol addiction and reported being 36 years sober since 1980.David, Rebecca
Don Shelby Shares His Recovery From Alcohol With St. Cloud Alano Society
WJON.com, September 16, 2016

Shelby Knot

Shelby, in his time on television, popularized the

Pratt Pratt is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: A–F * Abner Pratt (1801–1863), American diplomat, jurist, politician, lawyer * Al Pratt (baseball) (1847–1937), American baseball player * Andy Pratt (baseball) (bor ...

necktie knot, to the extent that it is sometimes referred to as the "Shelby Knot" or "Pratt-Shelby." The knot was created by Jerry Pratt, an employee of the

US Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...

, who taught it to Shelby in 1986. The knot was considered at the time to be "the first new knot for men in over 50 years" by the New York Times. It is speculated that the knot had been in use for a time, but the knot simply had not been documented until Don Shelby made it famous by the help of Jerry Pratt and the Minneapolis clothier Kingford Bavender. Kingford Bavender is considered to have coined the term the "Shelby" knot. In honor of the history of the Shelby Knot and Don Shelby, a bespoke clothier company by the name of King Brothers Clothiers partnered with Mr. Shelby and launched the Shelby Knot Collection of ties in the spring of 2013. Together, Don Shelby and King Brothers Clothiers, selected the designs of the ties that reflected Don's tastes.

References

External links

'Best Of' Don Shelby Memories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelby, Don 1947 births Living people American radio personalities American television journalists Radio personalities from Minneapolis Mass media people from Minneapolis People from Muncie, Indiana Television in Minnesota University of Cincinnati alumni American male journalists Television anchors from Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota Peabody Award winners Regional Emmy Award winners Writers from Minneapolis 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Sportswriters from Minnesota