SHELBY'S FIVE

Don Shelby is best known as an anchor, but he's most proud of his role as a reporter. Here are his five favorite stories that he covered in his 32 years at WCCO.

"Fred Gates Jr.'s Safe" (1981): "Fred was Hubert H. Humphrey's right-hand man. On the day of his funeral, his home was broken into and the safe was stolen. Humphrey claimed it was the White House 'plumbers.' Turns out it was just some Northeast hoods. The Secret Service couldn't solve it. Neither could the FBI or the Minneapolis police. I solved it."

"Sexual Abuse of Children" (1982): "We looked at how boys are often abused by adults and that the system sides with the adults. Laws were changed because of those pieces."

"Ambulance Investigation" (1983): "We showed five deaths that were the direct results of a bad system. That was a very difficult investigation, but it changed the way EMT services were done for the better."

"The Iron Crib" (1990): "There are a thousand children that came out of Romanian orphanages that would be on the streets of Bucharest today, dead or in prostitution or in prison. Instead, they are in the loving homes of Minnesotans because of the work we did there. When people say TV journalism is bull, I tell them to look at that piece."

"Iraq With the Minnesota National Guard" (2009): "We were working 21-hour days in large part because of the time difference. I was in heaven. I have so much love for service personnel and how the military operates."

NEAL JUSTIN