Remembering Leighton Peck
• We keep losing legends — RAMP just learned of the passing of longtime Twin Cities’ radio pro Leighton Peck, former OM of Hubbard Minneapolis and 19 years as PD of Hot AC KSTP-FM (KS95), who died Jan. 30 at the age of 65.
Peck got his radio start in St. Cloud, MN in 1981. After a stint at KLSS/Mason City, IA and several subsequent stops in Nebraska, Peck returned to Minneapolis in 1988 and did overnights for Brian Philips on KDWB for three years. In 1991 KS95 PD Bob Davis hired him as a part-timer. Peck steadily worked his up through the ranks to nights and middays before he was named PD in 2001 — only the 4th in the station’s history, following in the hallowed footsteps of Chuck Knapp, Davis and Todd Fisher. Peck added PD stripes for KSTP-AM in 1999.
At the time of his retirement in May 2020, Peck commented on his legacy at KS95, saying, “The company allowed me to create this radio station in my vision, and I think it worked out pretty well.”
Peck is survived by Melinda, his wife of 39 years; children Elliot and Neena, brother, Sheldon, and his mother-in-law, Florence Berndt.
A celebration of Leighton’s life will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 2-4pm CT in an informal gathering at Roberts Family Funeral Home in Forest Lake, MN.
