T. D. Mischke

Tomas David "T.D." Mischke (born September 19, 1962) is a radio talk show host at the St. Paul, Minnesota Hubbard Broadcasting station AM 1500 KSTP. He hosts "The Mischke Broadcast", a long-running nighttime program that as of 2006 began airing on the midday time slot. His show features quirky regular callers, stream-of-consciousness humor, and experts on any topic he finds interesting. Since 1998, Mischke has been the winner of the "Best AM Radio Personality" award given by the local City Pages newspaper eight times.

Mischke was born in St. Paul to a Catholic family of seven brothers and sisters. After a stint at Cretin High School which ended when he was kicked out, he graduated from Highland Park Senior High in 1981. He attended College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University, the alma mater of his father and grandfather, planning to follow in his father's footsteps with a degree in journalism. Finding no journalism program at St. John's, he transferred to St. Thomas where he graduated in 1987 to become a freelance writer and musician.

In 1986-1987, Mischke was known as "The Phantom Caller" on Don Vogel's show, where he would randomly call in (without identifying himself) with tightly-written, thirty-second comedic interjections. He so amused the radio personality that he was invited to become Don's sidekick on his show, Afternoon Saloon*, on KSTP in 1992, during Vogel's second stint in the Twin Cities. After the stint as a sidekick, Mischke was given his own program on AM 1500 in January 1994.

On December 15, 2004, Mischke released Whistle Stop, a collection of his music. He performed on fellow Twin Cities broadcaster Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion on the September 2, 2006 show.

On January 3, 2006, the Mischke Broadcast returned from the Christmas hiatus to a new timeslot and an altered format. The new hours, a late drive-time shift of 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, prompted the new format, the station banning many of the trademark Mischke bits including his prank 411 calls and the pockets of dead air that would occasionally fill large portions of his show. Mischke, in announcing the change, said, "the Mischke Broadcast, as you know it, will be over," while assuring listeners that the move was a positive one for both him and KSTP.

During the 2006 Minnesota State Fair, Mischke made several out-of-character public appearances, such as hosting a trivia game show for KSTP's other hosts. He stated that he was "contractually obligated" to perform. Mischke generally avoids appearances, as he likes to keep his radio persona more or less secret. He still did not perform his show live at the fair like most other KSTP personalities, instead heading back to the station to do his show.

On October 30, 2006, in anticipation of the hosting the 2007 Twins season, the station moved Mischke's show from its 5:30-7:30 p.m. time slot to noon to 2 p.m. Fans of the broadcast have mixed feelings about this change, as it will be less affected by the Minnesota Twins once the 2007 Major League Baseball Season is underway, but will likely further restrict the program's traditional free-form nature.

During the 2007 Minnesota State Fair, Mischke made on-air appearances, kidding with the audience and bantering with guests.

Trivia

• Don Vogel's show was originally simply "The Don Vogel Show." It was Mischke who named it "The Afternoon Saloon" after joining the broadcast.

Quotes

• "Now, broadcasting from the border country of Minneapolis and St. Paul...It's Mischke."

—Opening to the Mischke Broadcast

• "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the return of the golden age of American radio. It’s the Mischke Broadcast, radio’s renegade outpost; transmitting live from the Twin Cities, courtesy of the Talk Station, AM1500, KSTP."

—Opening to the Mischke Broadcast

• "If you listen closely, you may notice that some of the characters occasionally portrayed on the Mischke Broadcast are fictitious. Listen at your own amusement. Thank you."

—Opening to the Mischke Broadcast

• "From the bleak barren tarmac of University Avenue, we return to your radio road hazard... transmitting from the last 90 feet of the City of St. Paul. Courtesy of the Black Sheep Broadcasting Network."

—Opening to the old late-night Mischke Broadcast

• "Good Old St. Paul, Big Time Minneapolis!"

—Sign Off Line

External links

• AM 1500: T.D. Mischke
• T.D. Mischke: Whistle Stop
• In-depth article about Mischke from The Atlantic Monthly
• The Rake Magazine article on Mischke
• The Madness of Mischke, an online collection of audio clips
• Mischke Podcast