Cake Eater to Classic Country Radio Host
Richard T. Nelson grew up in Edina. Central Minnesota knows him as Dick Nelson, the host of 98.1 FM's Classic County Show for decades.
When Dick was a kid his father worked for the Franklin Co-Op Creamery and his mother was a homemaker. He was the 3rd of 6 kids in the family. Dick has 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Dick says he always wanted to be in radio starting at the age of 7. He recalls being attracted to how radio worked and was impressed with the great talent that was on the radio at the time. Dick remembers his mother having the kitchen radio on consistently with it usually on WCCO.
As a kid Dick and his brother played with toy cars and trucks. He recalls living about 6 blocks from Southdale Mall. Dick remembers doing normal kid stuff while in grade school and was involved in the occasional fight but it was no big deal. In high school Dick ran track... he was a sprinter. He graduated from Edina High School.
Following high school Dick enrolled at Brown Institute to pursue a career in radio. It was an 18 month course. Upon completion Dick recalls Brown finding him a job in Thief River Falls, MN. His first assignment included an 8-hour board shift on the weekend and 6-hours on the air during the week. Dick recalls playing music, talking with guests and doing newscasts. After just 6 months in Thief River Falls, Dick found a job closer to home in Brainerd. He did the evening shift on KVBR, a rock 'n roll station in Brainerd. He stayed in there for 3 years.
After his time in Brainerd he got a job at KFAM in St. Cloud in 1966. That station was owned by the St. Cloud Times. The format was light rock with an focus on love songs. He held that job for 5 years. Dick then left for a job in Anoka at KANO/KTWN starting in 1971. After a few years in Anoka, Dick's wife wanted to move closer to her hometown of Brainerd. The compromise was moving back to St. Cloud. He went back to KFAM. Dick and his wife had 2 kids at the time. He stayed at KFAM for 2 to 3 years during this 2nd stint.
Dick started his first stint at WJON Broadcasting in the early 1980s doing the evening show on WJON. After just a couple years at WJON he jumped to 94.9 FM before moving to Star 96. He also worked for a brief period at WVAL doing country radio. Dick in the 1990s pumped to KLZZ and KXSS. That group of stations were bought by Regent Broadcasting which already owned WJON, 98.1 FM and 94.9 FM. He did news for KLZZ, an afternoon show on WJON and worked the 98.1 Classic Country Show on Sundays.
Dick retired from full-time work 6 years ago but continues to host the 98.1 Classic Country Show from 9am - 1pm Sundays. He also hosts the Woods Farmer Seed & Nursery Show every other Saturday from 8-9am and he hosts the Value Connection Show on WJON every Saturday from 10am-noon.
If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Dick Nelson, it is available below.