Don Shelby
“The Best Writers are the Best Readers”

Don Shelby has been a reporter and television anchor for 45 years. Before retiring from daily journalism in November of 2010, he worked for 32 years as anchor, investigative reporter and environmental correspondent for WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities.

As a broadcast journalist, he has earned the profession’s top honors and awards. These include three national Emmys, two George Foster Peabody awards, the Columbia-duPont, the Scripps-Howard and the National Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. He was honored in 1983 with the top award for investigative reporting by the International Radio and Television News Directors Association.
Don was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2008 and also into television’s Silver Circle. He has been named the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Humanitarian of the Year. In 2010, Don was named a Distinguished Minnesotan, an honor he shares with such luminaries as Sigurd Olson and polar explorer Will Steger.

Don has reported from Romania, Egypt, Iraq, Venezuela, Australia, and the Arctic Circle—to name a few. He originated the I-Team concept in 1980 and developed Project Energy in 2005. He reported nationally on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and from the scene of the terrorist attack in Oklahoma City.
In 2010, he reported on the War in Iraq while embedded with the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard.

In October 2001, Don began a 10-year term as a drive-time radio personality for WCCO-AM, interviewing over 2000 national newsmakers during that time. He also began a segment known as E-Day, in which he dedicated three hours every week to the discussion of alternative energy, global warming, the environment, ecology and the new economy of energy efficiency.

Since his retirement, Don continues his work in environmental journalism, reporting for MinnPost, the on-line daily, and is a member of the Climate Science Rapid Response Team roundtable. He currently serves on the board of Minnesota GreenStar and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

Don is also an author, playwright and actor. His book about basketball The Season Never Ends features a forward by Tubby Smith. He and his wife Barbara have been together for nearly 40 years and have three grown daughters and three grandchildren.

Don is proud of his 10,000 plus volume book collection which includes many rare books and signed first-editions. About his keynote talk, Don states that “We all wish to say something new and fresh. Reading great books by great writers rekindles the thirst for the best expression.”