Longtime Twin Cities radio veteran John Lassman is moving up the interstate to “the red house that rocks.”
Beginning March 1, Lassman will host “The Johnny Rock Show” mornings from 6 to 10 on “Rockin’ 101” (WHMH/101.7 Sauk Rapids-St. Cloud) and will serve as the station’s operations manager. Lassman is promising exclusive interviews with hard rock heroes and no negativity and will also be bringing his legendary “Chucker” character with him.
“I’m looking forward to building ‘The Johnny Rock Show’ into a local and self-deprecating morning radio institution for St. Cloud and the surrounding areas,” Lassman said in a news release.
Lassman, who grew up in Minneapolis and worked at several stations there, had most recently been the on-air executive producer of Tom Barnard’s morning show on KQRS/92.5 until parting ways with the station in 2019. He has also worked in several other markets and was thanked by Jon Bon Jovi at the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony for his role in helping launch his career.
WHMH is owned by the Hoppe family’s Tri-County Broadcasting. The station has a fringe signal to the northwestern Twin Cities suburbs.
“I’ve admired Tri-County Broadcasting, Rockin 101 and its talented team for many years. Joining Owner and ‘TCB’ Gary Hoppe, long time Program Director, Tim Ryan, both who can be found working late into the evenings, plus, the talented staff, both on and off air, and the chance to join this wonderful community, added up to a no brainer,” Lassman said.
Lassman replaces Aaron Imholte, who resigned from WHMH last year after bullying an Iowa announcer on the air.