Twin Cities radio host Dave Ryan suspended following trivia game with snorting segment

Longtime Twin Cities radio host Dave Ryan was suspended from appearing on his talk show Monday morning, three days after a segment aired during which Ryan and co-hosts snorted powder food ingredients as part of a Super Bowl trivia game.

The segment on Friday’s episode of “The Dave Ryan Show” was titled “Super Blow,” according to three listeners who spoke with the Star Tribune and others who discussed it on the Reddit online forum.

The section has since been edited out of the YouTube recording. The station 101.3 KDWB-FM did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

As a part of Friday’s trivia segment, a tray was brought out with four powders – flour, sugar, coffee creamer and pumpkin spice – described to be shaped into lines, said Sylvia Orth, who was listening to the show on her morning commute from Maple Grove to Fridley.

Orth added that the segment made it seem like the hosts were simulating the act of snorting lines of cocaine.

Each time a host got a question wrong, they had to snort one of the lines. Although it was mostly scrubbed, the YouTube recording still had some mention of the snorting game as of Monday evening.

Following the game, co-host Bailey Hess sneezes, to which Ryan replies: “Bless you, Bailey, have we been snorting something?”

Hess says she sneezed because of the coffee creamer she snorted.

“Yes, it’s that freaking coffee creamer that’s hitting my eyeball, popping back up again,” Hess says, to which Ryan replies, “Delicious.”

The following Monday, Ryan did not appear on his show. A message from iHeartRadio’s programming executive Rich Davis was played throughout Monday’s show, apologizing to listeners and saying Ryan had been suspended, according to Orth and fellow radio listener Whitney Bingham.

For many listeners, Ryan’s fearless discussion of nearly any topic, sometimes in ways that are provocative and surprising, is a major draw.

The station has not confirmed if the snorting game is what led to the suspension. Along with an apology to listeners, Davis said in the Monday message that the suspension was for “inappropriate content” on Friday, according to listeners.

Ryan did not return calls and emails seeking comment on his suspension.

Listeners who spoke with the Minnesota Star Tribune gave mixed reactions to the skit being cut and Ryan’s suspension.

Orth said she remains a “big fan” and noted that Ryan “has done a lot” for talk radio in the Twin Cities. She didn’t mind the snorting skit, but she said she was concerned for the health of the hosts.

“It didn’t offend me, but I did worry they were going to end up with sinus infections,” she said.

Bingham said the skit followed a dangerous trend of shows circulating various online challenges that can lead to listeners injuring themselves if they get inspired to try them.

“While it didn’t personally offend me, it’s for sure not something I’d air on the radio or social media,” Bingham said. “It was also just in poor taste, they could have done so many other silly things for getting a trivia question wrong.”