Steve Cannon (radio)

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Steve Cannon (1927–2009) was an American radio personality from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. He began his radio career at KSTP-AM in the 1960s and later became best known for his drive-time talk show, the Cannon Mess, on WCCO Radio (830 AM). The show aired from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and at times from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, broadcasting from a basement studio.

Cannon created a regular cast of self-voiced characters—Lil Cannons such as Ma Linger, Backlash Larue, Morgan Mundane, and Contemporary Collins—to provide comedic relief and commentary on current events. He often joked about the “crack management staff at CCO.” He spent 26 years at WCCO, retiring in 1997.

Earlier in his career, Cannon was a television host as the children's show character Wrangler Steve on WMIN-TV 11 and later appeared during newscasts on KSTP-TV. Before joining WCCO, he also worked at KSTP-AM and WLOL, and he spent time in San Francisco on KGO.

Steve Cannon died of cancer on April 6, 2009, at the age of 81. He was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2002.