Minnesota Public Radio Cuts 28 Jobs

American Public Media Group, which includes Minnesota Public Radio, made big staff cuts Tuesday, laying off 28 employees and canceling one of its signature programs, Chris Thile’s “Live from Here,” The Pioneer Press reports.

In a statement posted on MPR’s website, CEO Jon McTaggart cited “the widespread economic turmoil and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic” and the “the rapid loss of revenue we are experiencing” for the job losses, which stretch across MPR News, 89.3 The Current, MPR’s classical music station, American Public Media and Southern California Public Radio. An MPR spokesperson declined further comment.

According to MPR tax documents from 2018, McTaggart was paid nearly $754,00 that year.

Jon McTaggert

Former “Wits” host John Moe was among those laid off as his podcast “The Hilarious World of Depression” was canceled. He recently published a book of the same name. Moe declined an interview request but tweeted on Tuesday: “I am unemployed. I don’t know what the future will be. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to make the show happen in the first place. It’s a hard day.”

MPR cut 12 positions in November and, in May, accepted voluntary buyouts from another 24 employees, including six MPR News staffers. An additional 14 employees agreed to voluntary furloughs, while the company cut executive pay by 20 to 35 percent. Earlier this month, longtime Current DJ Mark Wheat announced he had left the station with a message on its website: “Sorry about the abrupt departure from the airwaves … I’m not good at goodbyes.”

On Twitter, “Live from Here” host Chris Thile wrote: “While this news fills me with sadness, I understand the decision, as my extraordinary teammates and I conceived of ‘Live from Here’ as a celebration of live, collaborative audible art, and there’s just no telling when it could be that again.”

When Garrison Keillor retired from hosting “A Prairie Home Companion” in 2016, bluegrass musician Thile took over the radio variety show, which changed its name to “Live from Here” the following year. Over the course of its four seasons, the show parted ways with Keillor’s longtime employees and relocated operations from St. Paul to New York. In 2018, MPR sold the show’s former home base, St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater, to Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue.