Twin Cities Radio: WCCO To Drop All Evening Local Programming

WCCO Newstalk 830-AM, a prominent news and talk radio station in the Twin Cities, is discontinuing its local programming during weekday evenings, a decision that has led to the cancellation of The Henry Lake Show. According to sources who spoke with Bring Me The News, station staff were notified of this significant scheduling overhaul on Thursday morning. 

The changes eliminate all live and local content after 6 p.m., with the notable exception of Minnesota Twins baseball broadcasts, which will continue to air as scheduled.

This shift directly impacts The Henry Lake Show, effectively ending its run. Thursday’s programming schedule revealed a noticeable void from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., marking the departure of host Henry Lake and his co-host Chris Tubbs from the station. Lake, a veteran radio personality, has been a fixture at WCCO-AM for the past six years, having joined the station after leaving 100.3 KFAN. At WCCO, he initially launched a late-night show in the 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. slot, earning a reputation for engaging content on “The Good Neighbor,” as the station is affectionately known.

The programming cuts at WCCO-AM are part of a broader wave of reductions initiated by its parent company, Audacy, a major player in the radio industry. On Thursday, Audacy began implementing sweeping layoffs across its nationwide portfolio of stations. According to Radio Insight, these cuts could affect between 250 and 300 employees company-wide, reflecting a challenging financial landscape for the broadcaster. A memo from Audacy Minneapolis, obtained by Bring Me The News, acknowledged that “the business is not where it needs to be,” emphasizing that the decision to end The Henry Lake Show was not a reflection of the program’s quality or Lake’s performance. Instead, it appears to be a strategic move driven by broader economic pressures facing the company.

At this time, there have been no reports of similar cuts affecting other Audacy-owned stations in the Twin Cities market, which include 104.1 Jack FM, known for its eclectic music mix, and 102.9 The Wolf, a country music outlet. Bring Me The News has reached out to Audacy seeking additional clarification and comment on the situation, but no response has been provided as of yet.

Henry Lake’s tenure at WCCO-AM began after his departure from 100.3 KFAN, where he had built a following in the competitive Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. His move to WCCO-AM in 2019 allowed him to carve out a distinct presence with his late-night show, which later shifted to an earlier evening slot. The cancellation of his program marks the end of an era for local listeners who valued his contributions to the station’s lineup. As Audacy navigates its financial difficulties, the loss of live and local programming after 6 p.m. at WCCO-AM signals a significant shift in the station’s identity, leaving fans of The Henry Lake Show and local radio alike to wonder what lies ahead for the Twin Cities’ media landscape.