If the Land of 10,000 Lakes were to have an official state news anchor, we would nominate KARE 11’s Randy Shaver for the role. He’s been a news anchor in Minnesota for more than a decade, but he’s been with the station now known as KARE 11 since 1983 in several roles. I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for almost 40 years – an Iowa transplant, like Randy – and Shaver has been fixture on my TV for as long as I’ve been here. In fact, it’s safe to say that generations of local news viewers have enjoyed and trusted Shaver’s guy-next-door style, his openness, and his on-air personality.

Randy Shaver co-anchors the prime time newscast on KARE 11 news with his partner, Julie Nelson.
Randy Shaver/Facebook
He's been with the station that's now known as KARE 11 since 1983, starting there shortly after his graduation from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he was an athlete.
Iowa State University Digital Collections
Over the years, he's worn several hats at KARE-11, including reporter, sports director, and news anchor.
Kare11/YouTube
Even as an anchor, he still hosts several episodes of his "Prep Sports Extra" segment throughout the year, offering in-depth coverage of local high school and youth sports.

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In 1995, Shaver launched a celebrity golf tournament dedicated to raising money for cancer research, prevention, and treatment in Minnesota.
Randy Shaver/Facebook
In 1998, his passion became even more personal when he was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin's disease. Shaver was, fortunately, able to beat his cancer, which went into remission after treatment.
His golf tournament morphed into the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund in 2003. It has since raised millions of dollars in support of its mission.
In 2018, Shaver announced that he'd been diagnosed with prostate cancer. However, after surgery and treatment, he announced he was, once again, cancer free in 2019.
Julie Nelson/Facebook
After learning that Shaver was officially cancer-free for the second time, co-anchor Julie Nelson posted this playful photo to her KARE-11 Facebook page in 2019, saying that Shaver's news "topped" this shot.
Shaver's courageous public battles with cancer helped to make his connection with the Twin Cities viewing public even more deep and personal.
Randy Shaver/Facebook
In 2020, he was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and in 2023, he was part of a retrospective on television news in Minnesota, along with beloved former KARE 11 anchor Paul Magers.
More than 40 years after his arrival at KARE 11, Shaver is, himself, a beloved and trusted fixture on televisions in the Twin Cities and throughout the region.
KARE11

Thanks to the deep roots he’s cultivated in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, both on and off the air, if we had an official state news anchor in Minnesota, I’d pick Randy Shaver for the role. What do you think? Let us known in the comments!

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