Minnesota Public Radio host John Wanamaker leaves the Twin Cities for Iowa Public Radio

Longtime Minnesota Public Radio regular John Wanamaker is moving to Des Moines.

His last day at St. Paul-based MPR is Sept. 21 and he will join Iowa Public Radio in early October. After two decades on the Twin Cities airwaves, he is excited for something new.

"I'll be honest. Most of our friends have some Iowa connections up here — they're either from Iowa or they went to Iowa with my wife," Wanamaker told the Register. "I was also ready for a change. I think I was a little played out."

Wanamaker will begin hosting the local version of "All Things Considered" here in Iowa later this fall. He replaces Catherine Wheeler, who hosted the program from 2021 until she left Iowa Public Radio in July for a position with North Country Public Radio in New York state.

"I've always looked at hosting in radio as a conversation ... make it conversational, try to find out what is important for your listeners and deliver the news they want to hear and need to hear," Wanamaker said. He also said that he takes a more lowkey approach to broadcasting on public radio, which is typically less personality-driven.

Wanamaker's wife grew up in Indianola and her parents still live in the small city just 30 minutes south of downtown Des Moines. The couple, who are parents to three cats, now owns a home there and Wanamaker will help care for his in-laws.

'Everybody I've met so far has been really, really nice'

The Wanamakers are excited to trade the "hectic" hustle and bustle of Twin Cities' for her hometown.

"She keeps on extolling the virtues of smaller-town living. Being able to go on a walk, day or night, and I'm just looking forward to a bit of a slower pace," he said.

Before joining MPR, the newscaster worked for six years as an anchor and reporter at WCCO Radio.

His body of work in Minnesota includes coverage of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, where he was tear gassed twice. Wanamaker was also one of the first journalists present to cover the I-35W Bridge Collapse over the Mississippi River, which shocked the nation and led to kitchen table conversations about infrastructure.

"That (bridge collapse) was a very, very memorable day covering that and just the everyday kind of stories, and I hate to say it -- the good and the bad that you encounter every day in the business," he said.

Wanamaker is also already getting a dose of Iowa nice.

"Everybody I've met so far has been really, really nice and very welcoming."

Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Public Radio hires former MPR host John Wanamaker