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Jason DeRusha

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Jason DeRusha filed his first report for WCCO-TV on April Fool's Day in 2003. Since then, he's earned nine Emmy Awards, his food coverage was a finalist for Outstanding TV Segment in the prestigious national James Beard Awards, the Jaycees named him one of the Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans, and the city of Minneapolis proclaimed Sept. 21 "Jason DeRusha Day." No fooling.

Today, Jason co-anchors WCCO This Morning weekdays from 4:30 a.m. until 7:00 a.m., and WCCO Mid-Morning from 9 to 10 a.m. He is also the station's food reporter, producing "DeRusha Eats".

While at WCCO, he was among the first television reporters on the scene and on-the-air at the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. He answered "Good Question" for 5½ years. In 2013, he was named one of the "40 under 40," the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal's list of young community leaders.

Minnesota Monthly named him to the "Power 75" list, writing, "If anyone understands where mass media is going … it's DeRusha."

Marquette University named him the Young Alumnus of the Year in 2012.

Before coming to WCCO-TV, Jason spent three years as a reporter at WISN-TV in Milwaukee. Prior to that, he anchored the weekend news at KWQC-TV in Davenport, Iowa, reported for WREX-TV in Rockford, Ill. and interned at "ABC World News Tonight" in New York.

Jason's been nominated for more than 20 Regional Emmy Awards, and he's won Regional Emmys for Anchoring WCCO This Morning, for breaking news coverage, reporting his DeRusha Eats segment and the Good Question segment.

In the Twin Cities, Jason is a past-President of the Board of Governors of the Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He's a frequent speaker and host for charity fundraisers.

He is a frequent fill-in host at WCCO Radio, and has been writing for Minnesota regional magazines since 2009. He's currently the food critic for Minnesota Monthly. Jason's a glass art collector, and he's been a judge for the Uptown Art Fair. He's also tried to blow a couple glass art pieces, with limited success.

Jason graduated from the Honors program at Marquette University with political science and broadcast communication degrees, magna cum laude. Jason lives in Maple Grove with his wife Alyssa (a Wayzata High graduate), and their sons Seth and Sam.

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VITALS
Joined WCCO: 2003
Hometown: Des Plaines, Illinois
Alma Mater: Marquette University

FAVORITES
Music: Halsey
Movie: Singin' In The Rain
TV Show: Billions
Book: Erik Larson, Devil In The White City
Food: All of the food
Local Restaurant: Bellecour, Wayzata
Hidden MN Gem: Cannon Valley Bike Trail
Sport/Exercise: Biking
Historical Figure: Teddy Roosevelt
Famous Minnesotan: Andrew Zimmern
Quote: "Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another." – Ambrose Bierce
Word: Kerfluffle
Vacation Spot: Madrid, Spain
Holiday: Independence Day
Planet: Eris, the dwarf planet
Facebook or Twitter? Twitter
Cats or Dogs? Dogs
Beatles or Rolling Stones? Beatles
Comedy or Tearjerker? Comedy
Phone Call or Text Message? Text
Mac or PC? Mac
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Paper or Plastic? I just use my hands
Morning Person or Night Person? MORNING!
East Coast vs. West Coast? East
Star Trek or Star Wars? Star Wars
'Grey Duck' or 'Goose'? Goose

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