A Hubbard School alum, Handberg spent his career reporting and producing the news as a broadcast journalist and WCCO general manager.
The Hubbard School mourns the passing of Ronald N. Handberg, who died on January 26, 2026. Born in 1938 in Minneapolis, Ron attended the University of Minnesota, where he graduated in 1960 with a degree in journalism. He began his career in broadcast journalism as a reporter in the burgeoning field of television news. Over time, Ron worked his way up to news director and ultimately general manager of WCCO-TV before retiring to write novels and enjoy time with his family. Ron and his wife Carol also generously set up the Ronald and Carol Handberg Scholarship, administered by the College of Liberal Arts.
According to a 2008 profile by the Pavek Museum, "Ron Handberg is that rare journalist who found his way to the top and never lost sight of the powerful relationship a television station can have with its community. Under his leadership, WCCO TV created the region’s largest investigative journalism unit and launched such award-winning mainstays as the I-Team and Dimension features as well as the Moore Report documentaries."
"I was pleased to sit with Ron at a couple of our recent events," recalls Senior Fellow Scott Libin, who currently teaches Newscast Producing. "He was and remains a genuine legend in Twin Cities TV news — in a category with Dave Moore, Don Shelby, Stanley Hubbard and very few others."
In sharing the news of Ron's passing, the WCCO Alumni Facebook page reflected, "Dig down to the foundation of WCCO TV and the guy responsible for what we did and do and who we were and are is Ron Handberg... It is important to remind ourselves what Don Shelby and Mark Rosen made clear at the station's 75th anniversary celebration 'We're all here because of Ron Handberg.'"
Funeral services will be held on Monday, February 9 at 11am, at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church, 1701 St. Anthony Parkway, Minneapolis. A visitation will take place before the service at 10:00.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the University of Minnesota Foundation, specifically the Ronald and Carol Handberg Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 860266, Minneapolis, MN 55486-0266 and/or to Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church, 1701 St. Anthony Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55418.