Jason DeRusha. Photos: Chris Emeott
Media personality Jason DeRusha discusses taking on new challenges and expanding his audience.
Jason DeRusha laughs as he recalls how clear his career path always was. “I was obsessed with game shows, local news and talk radio,” he says. “I was walking around the playground in suburban Chicago, doing interviews with the other kids. You can imagine how popular I was.”
For more than two decades, the Maple Grove resident was a fixture in local media, serving as a news anchor and morning show host for WCCO. Three years ago, DeRusha switched gears, leaving his position at WCCO to try his hand at something new—radio and podcasting. “I wasn’t learning and growing like I wanted to,” he says. “So, the question was, ‘Do I tread water, or do I go out there and learn some new skills?’”
DeRusha chose the latter, and he’s happy he did. “It’s really fun and really hard, but I wanted something hard,” he says. “I’m so glad I made the leap.”
A Curious Creature
DeRusha credits curiosity as his driving force. “Curiosity is what drives everything. It can open lots of doors,” he says.
For DeRusha, his natural curiosity led him to study political science and broadcast journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “My parents always tried to talk me out of it, but I feel so lucky my passion and interests aligned with my talent,” he says.
After graduation, DeRusha embarked on a successful career in broadcast journalism, interning at ABC News in New York, then logging time at stations in Davenport, Iowa; Rockford, Illinois; and Milwaukee, before landing at WCCO in the Twin Cities.
For 20 years, DeRusha graced local television screens at WCCO while simultaneously helping the station evolve with the advent of social media and digital operations. “I was the first person to start a blog at the station,” he says. “And I had a webcam going at my desk 24/7. I called it the Jason Cam. Some of my colleagues hated it so much they moved their desks.”
DeRusha has long been a fan of letting people get a view of the inner workings of media. “I believe my work and life is always richer, the wider a net I cast,” he says. “I always just want to be where the audience is.” In June 2022, DeRusha cast a new net, leaving a job he loved in television to take on a drive-time radio talk show on WCCO-AM and start a podcast called DeRusha Eats. “I loved the ability to have longer conversations and share my opinions,” he says.
Now, each weekday from 3 to 6 p.m., DeRusha’s voice fills three hours of radio time without a script on 830 WCCO Radio. “I love the freedom I get with radio,” he says. “It’s incredible freedom.” (Listen to each segment on the podcast by searching Drive Time with DeRusha or DeRusha Eats.)
A Passion for Food
DeRusha sees reason for optimism when it comes to modern media. “There’s never been more outlets for storytelling and journalism,” he says. “We’re in the golden age of storytelling and content creation.”
DeRusha appreciates how the advent of the internet has allowed people to follow their passions. For him, that’s food. So, when he’s not talking on the radio, DeRusha is talking on his podcast, DeRusha Eats. The podcast is a natural evolution of a Twitter (now known as X) account he once started to document a trip to California’s wine country, including Napa and Sonoma. “I realized that people did care what I had for lunch,” he says. DeRusha quickly adapted the focus to a broader food account and later turned it into the podcast where he regularly talks with local chefs, reviews restaurants and interviews celebrities with ties to the food world. “I’ve been covering food for 15 years,” he says, noting his long connections as a contributing food editor with various area magazines.
But there was never any grand plan to carve out a foodie niche for himself, DeRusha says. “I’m just someone who loves to go out to eat,” he explains. That’s why DeRusha will never turn down a restaurant recommendation. “Send me all the recommendations,” he says.
When asked about the current state of restaurants in the Twin Cities, DeRusha says things are “in transition.” “It’s an uncertain phase,” he says, noting a retreat by diners who once loved going out to eat in favor of taking food home. On the bright side, DeRusha says the “variety of options, cuisines and price points has never been better.”
Fittingly, Jason DeRusha is photographed at one of his favorite restaurants, St. Paul’s Gus Gus. A special thanks to the team at Gus Gus for their hospitality.
Among his favorites right now are Gus Gus in St. Paul, which DeRusha calls “phenomenal,” and Olieo in Bayport—“best Italian in the state.” When asked which restaurants he’d love to see reopen their doors, DeRusha says The Strip Club in St. Paul and Saffron in Minneapolis’s Warehouse District.
Closer to home, DeRusha loves Lotus in Maple Grove, where his son, Sam, was a server. He’s also a fan of Malone’s Bar & Grill, The Lookout Bar and Grill and Three Squares Restaurant. “Those are the places the kids want to go to,” he says. “They’re all about service, heart and memories.”
Those looking for an under-the-radar restaurant recommendation in Maple Grove won’t get much out of DeRusha. He’s not gatekeeping but says, “In Maple Grove, there are no hidden gems. All of the restaurants are busting at the seams.”
The Next Chapter
DeRusha and his wife, Alyssa, whom he met in college, moved to Maple Grove in 2003 when he landed his job at WCCO. They’ve been there ever since. “Same house, same block,” he says. “We love our neighbors, and we love the schools.”
They’ve raised two boys—Seth and Sam—in Maple Grove. Seth is a student at New York University, and Sam, a 2024 Maple Grove High School alumnus, started at the University of Southern California in the fall, making DeRusha an empty nester. That frees up some time for trying new restaurants, but it also means he can hit the bike trails. “The network of bike trails in Maple Grove is unbelievable,” he says.
DeRusha and his wife have plans for more date nights, too. “I love the theater,” he says. “And we’re definitely going to catch more live music.”
While DeRusha has no plans to leave Maple Grove, he has at least one more entry on his career bucket list he’d like to cross off. “I would love to do something that goes national,” he says. “That would be sort of the cherry on top.”
In the meantime, DeRusha wants people to know that they shouldn’t be shy when they see him. “I love it when people say hi when I’m at Cub or Lunds & Byerlys,” he says. “The most amazing thing in my life is to have random people come up and say they appreciate my work.”
Listen to DeRusha Eats on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Jason DeRusha
Instagram: @derushaj
