Familiar Faces
Hey
Mr. TJ! TJ Palesotti, a local radio mainstay for more than two decades, is right at home in southern Minnesota
T Photo by Pat Christman
NAME:
TJ Palesotti Occupation:
Program director/Morning Show co-host Mix 99.1 KEEZ-FM
Hometown: Mound
Guilty pleasure song:
“Ripple” by Grateful Dead always helps level my mood.
Favorite radio/podcast: “High Performance Mindset” with Dr. Cindra Kamphoff; “Disgraceland” with Jake Brennan
16 • APRIL 2020 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
here aren’t many people in the Mankato area who can make the claim that probably 90 percent of the community has heard their voice. But TJ Palesotti might be one of them. If you’re a fan of Maverick hockey, you’ve heard the soothing sounds of TJ Palesotti’s voice announcing, over the sounds of a few thousand screaming fans, “MAVERIIICCCKKK GOOOAAAL!” or letting everyone know there’s “one minute remaining in the period,” to which the fans reply, “Thank you!” to which Palesotti in turn says, in an oh-so-Minnesota accent, “You betcha.” His voice also has been all over the southern Minnesota radio dial. For more than two decades, Palesotti has worked in local radio, garnering fans and followers for his pleasant demeanor and calming baritone. And anyone who follows him on social media knows he’s recently relocated down the dial, so to speak. As he said on his Facebook page, he was fired from his job at a popular country music station. But he was quickly snapped up by another station, and is now part of the morning show team on KEEZ 99.1-FM. He’s a true southern Minnesota original, and we’re so glad he agreed to answer a few questions for us. Mankato Magazine: Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself? TJ Palesotti: I moved into one of two apartments in an old house in Fairmont in 1996 when I began my radio career. Five months later a girl moved into the other apartment. We’ve been together ever since. We have two children. Our daughter is 17 and plans to help cure cancer someday. Our son is 13 and plans to take his mother to the Oscars. I spend my spring coaching track and field for Mankato Loyola/Cleveland. I spend my fall doing public address for Minnesota State Football. I spend my winter doing public address for Minnesota State men’s hockey. In the summer I go to the lake.
