Indy Radio: WTTS Morning Host Paul Mendenhall Sets Retirement

Paul Mendenhall

Indianapolis radio will lose an enduring voice when Paul Mendenhall retires from his WTTS 92.3 fM morning show in January.

The Indy Star reports Mendenhall has worked nearly two decades at WTTS, and he appeared on air for other notable Indianapolis stations in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The Carmel native announced plans earlier this month to exit full-time radio work.

As a teenager, he worked part-time at WXLW 950 AM for Bill Shirk – a colorful marketer who had a second career as a straitjacket escape artist. Mendenhall also served as a midday host for WNAP 93.1 FM, a bygone rock station known for its “Wrath of the Buzzard” catchphrase.

Paul Mendenhall plans to host his final WTTS-FM morning broadcast in January.

Announced in May as a new member of the Indiana Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, Mendenhall said it’s time to leave behind the daily commitment of being on air from 5:20 to 10 a.m.

“I’ve been getting up for about 19 years at 3:30 in the morning,” he said. “I still have the energy to do the show, and I really enjoy doing the show. It’s just later in the day I don’t do much. I’m out of gas.”

WTTS, a station owned by Bloomington company Sarkes Tarzian, plays adult-oriented rock popularized by acts such as the Lumineers, Adele and Tom Petty. The station ranked No. 11 among Central Indiana’s most popular frequencies in July, according to Nielsen rankings for listeners of all ages.