MPR's Eichten announces retirement

Longtime Minnesota Public Radio news host Gary Eichten will retire in January 2012, he announced at the end of his Midday program Monday (Aug. 22). Eichten has spent more than 40 years with MPR, in roles from station manager to news director and now host of Midday. Eichten began his career at MPR as a student announcer at Collegeville’s KSJR, the network’s first station. He has received numerous honors, including induction in 2007 into the local Pavek Museum of Broadcasting's Hall of Fame. Most recently, he received the prestigious 2011 Graven Award from the University of Minnesota’s Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards Board for his contribution to excellence in the journalism profession.