Don Shelby

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Don Shelby is a retired American journalist and longtime news anchor for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. He is an accomplished investigative journalist, with two Peabody Awards and three Emmy Awards, plus the Columbia DuPont Citation, the Scripps-Howard Award and the Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Service Award.

Shelby was born near Muncie, Indiana and was a standout high school basketball player. He spent two years at the University of Cincinnati before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. He met his wife Barbara at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., and they married after his four-year service, which ended in 1972.

He worked in Charleston, South Carolina and Houston, Texas before moving to Minneapolis. He joined WCCO-TV in 1978 as a reporter, later becoming the main evening anchor and creating the station’s I-Team, a leading investigative segment. He also hosted "In The Know" (later "Good To Know") and a climate-focused series called "Project Energy" that began in 2006.

Shelby survived a mild stroke in early 2004 and returned to the desk later that year. In 2009 he earned about $1 million but took a 10% pay cut in 2010 to help the station. He retired from TV on November 22, 2010.

Beyond news, Shelby has engaged in community projects and the arts. He has supported Mississippi River stewardship, pledged drives for TPT, narrated documentaries, and appeared in TV programs such as America Unearthed. He has acted on stage many times, often portraying Mark Twain, and has performed in Minnesota venues and beyond. In 2022 he began performing Love Letters at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, with runs continuing through 2026.

Shelby lives in Excelsior, Minnesota, in a LEED Platinum-certified home. His daughter, Ashley Shelby, is a novelist who published The Season Never Ends in 2011. He has spoken about his health battles, including strokes in 2004 and 2021, and his long-time sobriety (36 years sober by 2016). He helped popularize the necktie knot known as the Pratt-Shelby or "Shelby" knot, and a clothing company released a Shelby Knot collection.