MINNEAPOLIS — It’s hard to imagine tuning in to KARE 11 and not seeing Randy Shaver’s face. Since 1983, he's been a fixture on our nightly newscasts.
His hard work and commitment to excellence helped build the KARE brand.
"He's a cornerstone of the foundation of the place; he really is,” said former colleague Paul Magers.
Magers said he noticed two things about Randy immediately: his hairline and his work ethic.
"He had more hair follicles than a sea otter,” Magers joked before turning a bit more serious.
"Randy's work ethic in my career was unparalleled. I used to call him James Brown,” Magers said. “I used to say it was 'James Brown, the hardest-working man in sports.' That's Randy.”
In his early days as a sports reporter, Randy covered every kind of story from car racing to pro-wrestling, but it became clear early on that his true passion, was high school football.
Every fall for 40 years, Randy basically lived at KARE 11, calling coaches, coordinating photographers and furiously typing up scripts with just one finger.
Legendary Becker High School football coach Dwight Lundeen said it was obvious Randy always did his homework.
"That was always a big part of that program that made it successful... that it wasn't something shooting from the hip,” Lundeen said. “It was research and how he would watch film.”
Former WCCO Sports Director Mark Rosen said it was that dedication that made Randy’s coverage the best in the business.
“I mean you could feel the passion he had for it. And it certainly came across to the viewers," Rosen said. “He owned that; I mean, he really did."
Randy loved covering athletes at the top of their game, but he poured just as much heart into stories on those just starting.
His story on young wrestlers earned him a National Edward R. Murrow Award.
In 1994, KARE promoted Randy to sports director. He loved the job, but he could be a tough boss, according to one of his first hires: Eric Perkins.
"Randy has a gruff exterior, right?" Perkins said. “But ultimately, he just, he really wanted us to thrive back there. And that goes to a person in that sports office. He cared deeply about us and that happened from the moment I got here.”
For Randy, it always was and still is about the team. That's something I learned firsthand when he became my co-anchor in 2012.
It's been a privilege to stand next to him as we celebrated some of the best moments in our community and to rely on his steadiness and insight as we navigated some of the worst.
In 2021, Shaver was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame, a well-deserved honor, according to fellow Hall-of-Famer, Boyd Huppert.
“He just demands excellence, you know?” Huppert said. “And that's what you want in your coworkers — high expectations — and there's nobody with higher expectations than Randy.”
Viewers will remember Randy holding himself to impossibly high standards after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Disease in 1998.
Despite a brutal treatment regime, he rarely missed a day of work, sometimes to the dismay of his wife, Roseann.
“He worked having lost his hair, and I said, ‘Why?,’ and he said, ‘I want others to know they can get through this.’ And son of a gun if he didn't,” Huppert said.
But 20 years later, he'd have to do it again when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Once again, he went public with his incredibly personal battle to help others.
Beyond raising awareness on air, Randy and Roseann have worked tirelessly to raise money for cancer research through their nonprofit, The Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund.
To date, they've raised nearly $14 million. For Randy, that work will continue even after he retires from KARE 11.
For Randy’s family here at KARE, and for so many of you who welcomed him into your home night after night, this is going to be tough. Huppert summed up how many of us feel.
"I have a hard time imagining KARE without Randy,” Huppert said. “I knew this day was going to come at some point, but I'm not prepared to say goodbye."
But for Randy's actual family, it's about time.
“I'm looking forward to him spending time with our grandchildren, watching them grow,” said Roseann. “I'm looking forward to spending more time with him — haven't been able to do that much in 40 years — and I'm really looking forward to seeing him slow down. Relax. Enjoy life... but I'll sure miss watching him on TV.”
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