Lincoln Morning Host Arrested

• Matt McKay, morning personality on Alpha Media Top 40 KFRX/Lincoln, NE was arrested over the weekend after an alleged incident of domestic assault. McKay, 41, whose real name is Matthew Rydberg, was charged with felony strangulation.

As reported by the Lincoln Journal-Star, Rydberg was arrested at his home just after 2:30am on Saturday. According to official reports, police were dispatched to Rydberg’s home to follow up on a report of a domestic assault that was witnessed by his two children. Ryberg’s wife reported she had gone to sleep in her children’s room after an argument with her husband, who had been drinking. She told police Rydberg had pushed on her neck and she couldn’t breathe, pushed her face, bit her nose and shoved her. She had visible redness and scratches.

At his first court appearance (as shown here in a screen grab), Rydberg appeared on video from jail, shaking his head and mouthing “no” as the charge against him was read and asked to talk to his lawyer, Sean Reagan. “The allegation is that Mr. Rydberg was intoxicated at the scene. There was violence that was committed in front of the children,” said Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jan Lipovsky, who originally asked Lancaster County Judge Joseph Dalton to set Rydberg’s bond at $50,000. Ryberg’s attorney pushed for a lower bond, arguing that Rydberg has very little criminal history, has been a resident of Lincoln since the ’90s and “does a lot of work in the community.” Judge Dalton ultimately set Rydberg’s bond at $25,000 and ordered him to have no contact with his family. If convicted, Ryberg could face up to three years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. Local ABC affiliate KLKN-TV has further details about Ryberg’s court appearance.

KFRX GM Julie Gade told the paper that McKay is currently on leave, and his photo has been removed from the station website. A post on the KRFX Facebook page reads, “Matt Rydberg (Matt McKay) is currently on leave. In light of recent news, Alpha’s main concern is for Matt and his family. We ask the public and media to respect their privacy. Alpha Media does not comment on internal personnel issues and has no further comment at this time.”