WCCO Radio will become an ABC affiliate Thursday afternoon, as CBS News Radio calls it quits

National news may not be the first reason you tune in 830 on your radio, or listen to WCCO via the Audacy app or your smart speaker in 2026, but when the time comes, it is an essential part of the station's history - and also its future.

That's why in an historic change, WCCO Radio will become an ABC News affiliate for the first time. The move was announced Thursday on the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar, with the station's Brand Manager Brad Lane making it official.

"So I will tell you, that after conducting a full evaluation of all of the options available, WCCO Radio will be moving to ABC News, this afternoon," Lane explained. "Our plan is hopefully, fingers crossed and all the technical wires are pieced together, we will move to ABC News starting at 3:00 this afternoon."

For listeners of the station, it will be a familiar sound, but certainly a different sound too.

"You'll hear different voices, at the top of the hour," says Lane. "Sherry Preston, who originally worked in Milwaukee at a station that I was at, WTMJ, she's one of the main anchors. Alex Stone, Karen Travers, Jim Ryan, these will become household names to our fans."

ABC News will provide updates at the start of each hour, all day, every week. Those updates will be 2-minutes compared to the traditional 3-minutes with CBS. At night, ABC will provide a full 5-minute update.

You'll also hear new voices on WCCO's airwaves, with ABC national correspondents joining WCCO shows with the latest news and updates on the biggest stories around the U.S. and around the globe.

WCCO will also get full longform breaking news coverage from ABC, along with special events like presidential debates and election coverage, plus holiday news specials.

"I will tell you, you will not miss a beat in terms of coverage of things, we will partner with them when it comes to huge breaking news stories across the country or internationally," Lane adds. "You guys will have access to the reporters on the ground."

The first of the holiday specials, “Press Play,” will air on Memorial Day from 6:00-9:00 p.m.

CBS shutting down radio was a decision made by CBS - WCCO Radio and the countless stations across the country who were their affiliates learned in March that their national news partners was calling it quits.

The station's history tied to CBS is deep. In 1932, CBS Radio Network purchased the 8-year old station from General Mills and became the sole owner. CBS quietly formed in 1927 and purchased one-third of WCCO in 1929 before purchasing the rest. CBS added network shows to the station in 1937.

While it's a sad day for those of us at WCCO, saying goodbye to such a long time partner in CBS News, there's excitement for a new era.

"Let me say that first and foremost, it is going to be jarring," Lane acknowledges. "To hear ABC's on WCCO radio, I get it. I understand, but there's nothing we could do about it. And we have to move on, and we have to have a partner in this from the national and international perspective. And ABC is now our next best option."