WCCO Radio's Soap Opera 'Minnesota Hospital' A State Fair Tradition

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Every morning, WCCO Radio listeners tune in for Dave Lee. They always get updates on the commute, weather and news, but there's one day of the fair where that all changes.

Normal programming took a back seat for the highly anticipated Minnesota Hospital.

"People keep asking for it," Dave Lee said. "One year I didn't do it the first Friday -- huge mistake."

The radio soap opera has developed quite the following over the last 50 years. Dave joined as a guest 28 years ago after an invite from the original creators Boone and Erickson.

"They created it and when I started, they were nice enough to let me be part of it," Dave said. "When they retire,d I carried that torch on."

By carrying that torch, Dave became responsible for the writing.

"We worked off President Trump's most recent conversations," Dave said.

Using the news cycle as his inspiration, he finds topical humor. Yet it's the rotating guests who add the character.

It may be an annual story line but it always leaves listeners waiting for next year's program.