Jason DeRusha
Jason DeRusha filed his first report for WCCO-TV on April Fool’s Day in 2003. Since then, he’s earned eight Emmy 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 News At Noon” with Jamie Yuccas. He is also the station’s food reporter, producing “DeRusha Eats” for WCCO Saturday Morning.
While at WCCO, he was among the first television reporters on the scene and on-the-air at the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. He’s covered flash flooding, tornadoes and school shootings. 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 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 serves as 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 joined Minnesota Monthly as a food/wine columnist in 2009, and now writes for Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine as a contributing editor. 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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DeRusha Eats: Lake & Irving
After the recent deep freeze, you might be dreaming of escaping Minnesota in favor of Hawaii or California. But brothers Chris and Andrew Ikeda did just the reverse, leaving those warm states to open a restaurant in their hometown of Minneapolis. This week, DeRusha Eats at Lake and Irving, where the Ikedas are bringing global influences to a local intersection.
How To Get Organized In Your Bedroom
The home organization series this week “New Year, New You” continues Thursday. and we’re taking you into the bedroom. It’s not like that, we’re getting organized. From the messes on the floors to our disastrous closet, Jason DeRusha let a professional organizer come to his home to find the tricks to fixing up yours.
Professional Tips On Organizing Your Kitchen
Did you know January is National Get Organized month? This week, the WCCO Morning Show is focusing on what many of you listed as a top New Year’s resolution — getting organized — and how you can keep the trend going throughout 2014.
Growing St. Paul Company Producing Luxury Leather Bags
All week we’re unwrapping some of our favorite gift ideas for the holidays on the WCCO This Morning show. And Jason’s is an all-American story. He carries a bag every day made out of leather by the St. Paul company J.W. Hulm. It’s a company that’s growing in hiring.
DeRusha Eats: Scallops At Union Fish Market
It’s a quirk of the Twin Cities dining scene that there are only a couple seafood restaurants. The new seafood restaurant Union Fish Market in downtown Minneapolis is hoping to fill the void. That’s how Jason DeRusha got a taste of the delicious scallops in this week’s DeRusha Eats.
DeBlog: Best Holiday Restaurant Gift Card Deals
It’s the best time of the year if you’re looking for a great deal on restaurant gift cards. Spend $100, get $20. Spend $100, get $25. Spend $25, get $5. It’s the perfect way to say “thank you” to coworkers, or your babysitter, or a great gift for family and friends.
Jason DeRusha’s Favorite Family Recipe For Thanksgiving
All week the WCCO Morning Show is sharing its favorite family recipes in time for your Thanksgiving. Today we’re talking stuffing. Jason DeRusha’s mom does it one way, but his mother-in-law has a pretty big twist.
Local Company Makes Cell Phone Cases From Wood
Almost all of us have cell phones, and with them come cases and skins. NPD Group market research says over the last 12 months, Americans spent $2.2 billion dollars on cell phone protection devices.
Ph.D. In Engineering Leads To MOA Cosmetics Store
A Twin Cities company has quickly grown from the owners’ New Brighton home to an online retailer to a retail store at Mall of America. The New Brighton-based business Sigma Beauty was started online by a veterinarian and an engineer, and now they have claim $25 million in annual sales.
Charlie Awards Unite Local Foodies In Spirited Competition
This weekend will see the biggest awards in the local food scene. The Charlie Awards not only honor the best chef and best restaurateur in the Twin Cities, but they also honor the best dishes in certain neighborhoods. In this week’s DeRusha Eats, Jason DeRusha checked out Charlie’s Potato Salad, and scouted some of the ten finalists.
DeRusha Drinks: Verdant Tea Becoming A Hot Commodity
We know about craft beer, and small-roasted coffee, but some food experts believe tea will be the next drink to take off in the United States. And a Minneapolis couple in their 20s certainly hopes so with Verdant Tea.
DeRusha Eats: Bryant Lake Bowl
For 20 years now, Bryant Lake Bowl has been a popular date night spot in uptown Minneapolis. It’s part local restaurant, part bowling alley – a Twin Cities original.
DeRusha Bakes: Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes
As the weather turns colder, a lot of us start thinking of baking. And two Minnesota authors — Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois — have sold 500,000 books promising Artisan Bread in five minutes.
DeRusha Eats: Artisan Bread in 5
No-Knead Artisan Free-Form Loaf From “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” Each loaf will average five minutes of active preparation time. Makes enough dough for four loaves, slightly less than 1 pound each. In a 5-quart container, mix yeast, water and salt. Add the flour, then use a spoon, stand mixer or high-capacity food processor to mix until uniform. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rise at room temperature for about two hours. The dough can be shaped and baked the day it’s mixed, or refrigerated in a lidded container (not airtight) for up to 14 days. The dough is easier to work with after three hours refrigeration.
Excellent Educator: John Paul II’s Jan Sklenicka
The WCCO Morning Show is honoring another excellent educator in the metro who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in student’s lives. Jason DeRusha headed to the only Catholic school left in Northeast Minneapolis — Pope John Paul II Catholic School.
Twin Cities Restaurant Going Green In Its Construction
A red-hot Twin Cities restaurant just raised more than $250,000 from friends and fans to help build a new spot in Robbinsdale. The Kickstarter campaign hit its goal of $75,000 in just six hours. Two years ago, Travail was named one of the Best New Restaurants in America.
DeRusha Eats Delicious Food … At A Hospital?
The sizzle of fresh tilapia, crisp green beans, topped with gorgeous grilled vegetables. Chef Jesse Sturm is working hard to offer healthy, delicious foods. In a place not exactly known for it.
Excellent Educator: Cindy Britain At The Ronald McDonald House
This morning we honor another excellent educator who has gone above and beyond to make a difference in student’s lives. Cindy Britain is a teacher at the Ronald McDonald House who has been inspiring kids in the classroom for more than 30 years.
DeRusha Eats: Cirque Du Soleil’s Traveling Kitchen
Cirque Du Soleil’s Amaluna is in the middle of a three-week run in the parking lot by Mall of America. But when the circus comes to town for an extended period of time, it’s not like the performers are eating at local restaurants the whole time.
DeRusha Cooks: Some Delicious Root Vegetables
Making healthy dinners doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Better For You cooking classes — at a price of just $30 — can help you whip up something delicious in the kitchen. It’s the root vegetable time of year — carrots, parsnips and turnips are every where.
DeRusha Cooks: Here’s How To Easily Grill Salad
Eating and making healthy food at home isn’t always easy. That’s why Jason DeRusha is in the kitchen with a very easy grilled salad. Mike Shannon from Yumpower shares some quick and easy tips on how to maximize whole ingredients to whip up a tasty salad.
DeRusha Cooks: Unsloppy Joes
Usually Jason DeRusha eats. But now he’s trying his hand at cooking. In the new Cambria Kitchen Gallery in the CBS Radio building in downtown Minneapolis, he gets a tutorial on how to whip up an “unsloppy joe.”
Apps Changing The Way Students Learn
Taking notes has changed from the days of scribbling in your spiral notebook, and even from the days of typing on your laptop. Now, it’s all about the app.
DeRusha Eats: Making The Sausage At Butcher & The Boar
Butcher and the Boar is well known for sausage. So well-known that a local grocery store asked if it could sell it. So why not let Jason DeRusha help make The Boar’s cheddarwurst? There’s an old saying about laws and sausage — it’s better not to see them being made.
State Fair 4-H Workers Go Around The Clock With Their Animals
The gates to the Minnesota State Fair open every morning at 6 a.m., but competition for the agricultural kids is already well underway. It takes a lot of prep work to get into the ring. The work really never stops, it actually goes all night long.
