Paul Magers Talks With WCCO About Retirement

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Longtime former Twin Cities TV news anchor Paul Magers is opening up about his long battle with alcoholism, on the heels of his announcement that he was retiring as a TV news anchor.

Magers told WCCO's Chad Hartman that he hit his rock bottom a few months ago.

"I was too weak, Chad -- scared frankly -- to ask for help. I would sit at home by myself and cry, and beg God to help me out. I'll start crying, I was just too weak to do it," Magers said.

He is now sober after recently going through treatment.

Magers also announced his retirement from the news business after 38 years.

"A friend of mine told me you do anything long enough, you just grow a little tired of it, a little bored with it. There's a little of that. There are also a lot of places I've never been that I'd like to see," Magers said. "I'd like to spend some time traveling, doing the simple things."

Magers also said he's already loving retirement and looking forward to spending more time with his wife Kathy and daughters Emily and Anna.

Paul Magers was born and raised in Washington State and came to the Twin Cities to work at KSTP before spending 20 years as the anchor at KARE 11. In 2003, Magers left the Twin Cities for CBS 2 in Los Angeles.

Magers will soon turn 63 and told WCCO Radio that he had been thinking about retiring for quite some time and planned to do so even before seeking treatment for alcoholism.