Gary Eichten now and then
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Thursday night at 10 p.m. in the KARE 11 Extra long-time Midday host Gary Eichten reflects on his four decades at Minnesota Public Radio.
Eichten is hanging up the headphones and stepping away from the microphone for the last time this week, to spend more time with his wife and family. The Mankato native didn't know he was launching a broadcasting career back in 1967 when, as a student at St. John's University, he joined KSJN-FM radio in Collegeville.
That small station evolved into the huge radio network and news organization known as Minnesota Public Radio, and -- with the exception of a three-year stint in the U.S. Air Force -- Eichten has been there ever since.
He took on a variety of roles at MPR over the years, but in the past 20 years Eichten became known as an even-tempered, unbiased moderator of political debates.
Those events, some in his studio and others in auditoriums, theaters and the Minnesota State Fair, supplied nightly newscasts with sound bites from politicians. But rarely did Eichten himself make the TV spotlight.
"Because you're not the focus, the center of attention," Eichten told KARE.
"Can anyone name the moderator of the Lincoln-Douglas debates? No. Apparently he or she did a pretty good job, just stayed out of the way," Eichten remarked. "And that's, in my universe, the goal of a good moderator."
His Midday show, which airs at 11:00 a.m. in the Twin Cities, has followed a familiar schedule. The first hour is dedicated to live interviews, and the second hour features live speeches or taped political events from Minnesota and around the nation.
Eichten will be conduct his final live interview Thursday, when Governor Mark Dayton steps into the MPR studios. Later his extended radio family will celebrate his career with a special event at the Fitzgerald Theater, featuring a live interview with former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Watch KARE 11 Thursday Night at 10 p.m. to learn more about Eichten's incredible radio run.
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