Ed Schultz ponders local Fargo show

Even after enjoying success on a national scale, Ed Schultz is still yearning for a return to his local Fargo, ND talk show days. So much that he's currently negotiating with his former station, KFGO to do just that.

Schultz has been in talks with Jim Ingstad, the station's former owner who is in the process of repurchasing the station from Clear Channel. If all goes as planned, he could be returning to "News and Views" on the "Mighty 790", though no moves can be made until the FCC approves the sale of the station.

“He’s made me a very nice offer,” Schultz told the Fargo Forum last Thursday from his Detroit Lakes, MN home. “I just haven’t decided if I’m going to take it yet.”

Schultz has been a mainstay on Fargo’s television and radio airwaves – from sports to political commentary – since the early 1980s. His local show, "News and Views", was the highest-rated radio show in the entire state, and was even syndicated across the Dakotas. It also provided a launching pad for his current nationally-syndicated show, which is still based in Fargo. Schultz left the local show in December 2004 to focus on his rapidly growing national show, and later moved the program to rival KQWB.

Schultz said discussions began in August when Ingstad contacted him about returning to KFGO. He’s struggled to come to a decision since and hoped for some resolution over the holidays.

And no, Schultz will not give up the syndicated gig, which currently airs on 102 stations nationwide. Schultz, who has seven years remaining on his contract for the national show, said he’d likely find himself returning to “News and Views”, currently hosted by Joel Heitkamp weekdays from 8:30-11AM.

“I do miss doing local stories – things that make good stories but not national stories,” said Schultz. He plans to meet with Ingstad this week and make a final decision by mid-January.

“It is workable, it’s just a matter of whether I want to do it or not,” Schultz said. “I go back and forth on it all the time.”

You can read more about this in the Fargo Forum (free registration required).