Donald Gilbert Shelby is a news anchor on WCCO-TV and radio personality on WCCO Radio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He joined the station as a news anchor in 1978 and is also an experienced investigative journalist, whose work has earned two George Foster Peabody awards and several Emmy Awards. Shelby suffered a mild stroke in early 2004, and returned to news reading duties by the end of that year.
He has received several honors for his work in the community; including Minnesota Sportsman of the Year, Martin Luther King Humanitarian of the Year, the Great American Traditions Award by B'nai Brith, Minnesota Broadcaster of the Year, voted Best TV Newscaster in the City Pages in 2005 and 2007, and awarded the coveted Josten's Mr. Basketball ring, an honor rarely given to an adult.
In 1997, Don was honored with a second Peabody Award, the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, for his ongoing work with the youth of Minnesota. Don's commitment to mentoring has energized the station and the community. In May 2007, Don was honored with a Leadership Award by Conservation Minnesota, for his creation of WCCO TV's Project Energy.
He has won all five of the nation's top journalism awards, including three national Emmys, the Columbia DuPont Citation, the Scripps-Howard Award and the Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Service Award.
Don was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in October 2007.
In recent years, Shelby began having a unique dual responsibility of hosting an afternoon radio show on WCCO-AM from 3:00 to 6:00 PM, immediately after which he anchored the TV newscast, which is also simulcast on radio. As of June 2006, Shelby still does the radio show, he no longer anchors the 6:00 news.
His current project, titled Project Energy, has been widely credited with enlarging the dialogue about alternative fuels and energy conservation.
His eldest daughter, Ashley Shelby, is the author of Red River Rising: The Anatomy of a Flood and the Survival of an American City.
Shelby is often mistakenly credited for inventing the Pratt-Shelby knot, a method of tying a necktie. In fact, he popularized it by wearing it on his nightly newscast after being taught how to tie it by Jerry Pratt.
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