Steve Cannon

MINNEAPOLIS - Steve Cannon, whose voices and colorful characters were a fixture on the Minneapolis airwaves for nearly 40 years, has died. He was 81. Cannon died Monday night after a five-month battle with cancer, reported WCCO-AM, where he had worked from 1971 until his retirement in 1997. Cannon dubbed himself "king of the kilohertz, prince of the airwaves." His show _ from "the basement studio" at WCCO _ featured Cannon bantering with his characters Ma Linger, Morgan Mundane and Backlash LaRue. Before joining WCCO he worked for 13 years as a morning show host at rival KSTP-AM. Cannon grew up in Eveleth on Minnesota's Iron Range. He was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2002.