Twin Cities radio personality John Hines announces plans to leave daily show

A familiar voice for many Twin Cities radio listeners for years will soon grace the airwaves a little less.

WCCO radio host John Hines announced Friday that he plans to retire at the end of the summer, leaving the 9 a.m.-noon daily slot he's filled for the station since 2012.

Hines, whose 45-year career in the Twin Cities radio industry earned him a spot in the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame last year, will continue to fill in part-time at WCCO after finishing his daily career at this year's Minnesota State Fair.

"I am thankful to the many listeners who have supported me over the years and to WCCO in allowing me the opportunity to extend my career these past years," Hines said in a news release. "I am also pleased that WCCO has invited me to stay on in a part-time/fill in capacity."

Hines joined the radio business after graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1971. After training at Brown Institute and a brief stint at a station in Illinois, he returned to the Twin Cities to join WWTC.

Since then, Hines has hosted shows on KSTP-AM, KSTP-TV, WLOL and K102. He briefly worked in TV early in his career but moved back to radio because he liked the hours better. His gig with Bob Berglund in the 1980s on WLOL raised his profile locally as their show took the station to the No. 1 spot in the market.

Hines was also the first nonjournalist embedded with soldiers in Iraq.

"I have had and will continue [to a lesser degree] to have the time of my life," he posted with the announcement of his plans to retire on Facebook.