"Time is running out," Garrison Keillor said in hinting at his possible retirement four years ago. "At 71 you see bad junk happen to your classmates and cousins and you think, 'This could happen to me. Better get a move on.' " (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

Garrison Keillor, who will retire from "A Prairie Home Companion" in July 2016, is photographed in St. Paul on Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Garrison Keillor gets some fresh air on Grand Avenue in St. Paul on Thursday, June 19, 2014. Keillor's venerable radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," is returning to its Macalester College roots with a three-day 40th Anniversary celebration at the college on the 4th of July weekend. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

"I was 32 and unreasonably sure of myself. If I listened to a tape of that show today, I would writhe in agony," said Garrison Keillor, recalling his first broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion," back in July of 1974. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

Kate Hanley of St. Paul shoots a "selfie" with her daughter, Molly, and Garrison Keillor outside of Keillor's bookstore, Common Good Books, on Snelling Avenue. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)



Garrison Keillor opened his own book store, Common Good Books, in the spring of 2012. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

Garrison Keillor was photographed in 1976, during the early days of "A Prairie Home Companion." (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

Garrison Keillor, center, performs with Judy Larson, Bill Hinckley, Bob Douglas, and Rudy Darling at Worthington Community College in 1975. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

The atmosphere in the early days of "A Priaire Home Companion" was "very sociable, which was one good reason for starting the show: a writer's envy of the social life of musicians," said Garrison Keillor, seen onstage at a performance of the show at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis during the mid '70's. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

Garrison Keillor plays the autoharp while signing during a 1976 performance of "A Prairie Home Companion." "What you lacked in talent, you had to make up for in anxiety," said Keillor of his stage performances. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)



Garrison Keillor and The Powdermilk Biscuit Band (Bob Douglas, Adam Granger, Mary DuShane) during a 1977 performance of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the St. Paul Sculpture Garden. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

Fans queue up for A Prairie Home Companion at The World Theater in the mid-'80's in St. Paul, prior to its renovation. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

Garrison Keillor, left, performs with Butch Thompson, and Robin and Linda Williams in the early '80's. "The friendships of those musicians really saw us through the hard spots," said Keillor. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

Garrison Keillor was photographed at the Prairie Home Cemetery in Moorhead, Minn. in November 1984. (Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald)

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of "A Prairie Home Companion," was photographed at the World Theater in St. Paul in April 1986. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)



Sound effects experts Tom Keith, left and Fred Newman work their magic during a live performance of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the World Theater in St. Paul in April 1986. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of "A Prairie Home Companion," breaks out in laughter during a rehearsal for his first show at the newly remodeled World Theater in St. Paul in April 1986. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshal)

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of "A Prairie Home Companion," introduces his musicians during the show's first performance at the World Theater in St. Paul in Aprl 1986. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of "A Prairie Home Companion," performs with country music legend Chet Atkins at the World Theater in St. Paul in April 1986. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

Garrison Keillor, the creator and host of "A Prairie Home Companion," performs his first monologue at the World Theater in St. Paul in April 1986. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)



Garrison Keillor takes the stage with Kate Mackenzie, the Everly Brothers, Taj Mahal, and Rich Dworsky during a 1987 performance of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the World Theater in St. Paul. (Photo © Prairie Home Productions/American Public Media)

Garrison Keillor performs his monologue during a 25th anniversary performance of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul in June 1999. (Pioneer Press: Bill Alkofer)

Director Robert Altman, left, joined Garrison Keillor at a press conference for the movie version of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the St. Paul Hotel on Wednesday May 3, 2006. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

An unexpected dog shows up at Garrison Keillor's St. Paul book store, Common Good Books, on Snelling Avenue. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

ÒWe're all set to do the 2014-15 season and I'm hoping to do a big thirty-city bus tour next summer and that's as far ahead as anybody plans,Ó said Garrison Keillor. ÒI like the show a lot and if somebody showed up who could take over my job, I'd walk away in a minute. Well, six months anyway. I'd like to see it continue. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)



Garrison Keillor will retire from "A Prairie Home Companion" in July 2016. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Minnesota Public Radio has cut ties with Garrison Keillor in response to allegations of inappropriate behavior involving at least one person who worked with him on “A Prairie Home Companion.”

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, MPR and American Public Media announced it was ending rebroadcasts of the “A Prairie Home Companion” episodes Keillor hosted, as well as distribution and broadcasts of his show “The Writer’s Almanac.”

The station also will change the name of “A Prairie Home Companion” with current host Chris Thile and cut ties with the prairiehome.org website and Pretty Good Goods online catalog.

Keillor, 75, released several statements to the media Wednesday, and wrote on his personal website “I’ve been fired over a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard. Most stories are.”

In a message to MPR News, Keillor said two employees had raised questions about his actions: “I have to respect the privacy of the two employees who made the allegations,” he said.

“I have my own recollection of events, but I don’t want to take issue with (MPR president) Jon McTaggart’s decision. I think the country is in the grip of a mania,” Keillor wrote, calling the misconduct allegations against Sen. Al Franken “an absurdity … but I expect MPR to look out for itself, and meanwhile I feel awfully lucky to have hung on for so long.”

And later on Wednesday, he publicly posted and then later removed a Facebook message that included: “It’s astonishing that fifty years of hard work can be trashed in a morning by an accusation. … Only a friend can hurt you this badly. I think I have to leave the country in order to walk around in public and not feel accusing glances.”

HIS ACCOUNT: HAND ON BARE BACK

Keillor detailed one of the encounters to the Star Tribune, writing that he was fired because he put his hand on a woman’s bare back as he tried to console her.

He said in an email to the newspaper that he was trying to pat the woman’s back after she had told him “about her unhappiness.” Keillor wrote that the woman’s shirt was open and his hand went up about 6 inches.

He said he apologized when the woman recoiled, and also emailed the woman an apology. She replied she’d forgiven him and “not to think about it,” he told the newspaper.

Keillor said he considered her a friend and they remained friendly “right up until her lawyer called.”

MPR declined to give any detail of the allegation and had no further comments beyond its statement, said communications director Angie Andresen. Keillor’s own publicist did not respond to several messages seeking further information.

MPR’s announcement came a day after Keillor, an avowed Democrat, wrote a Washington Post syndicated column that ridiculed the idea that Sen. Al Franken should resign over allegations of sexual harassment.

RELATED: Garrison Keillor: On Al Franken, renaming Lake Calhoun, and judging past actions

MPR LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION

The public radio broadcast giant was notified last month of the allegations, which took place during Keillor’s time with “APHC,” according to the statement. McTaggart immediately informed the MPR board chair and a special board committee was appointed to investigate.

In addition, MPR has retained outside legal counsel to conduct an independent investigation. “Based on what we currently know,” the statement read, “there are no similar allegations involving other staff.” MPR is also encouraging anyone with additional information to call a confidential hotline at 1-877-767-7781.

“A person could not hope for more than what I was given,” Keillor wrote on his website. “It’s some sort of poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story, having told so many of them myself, but I’m 75 and don’t have any interest in arguing about this. And I cannot in conscience bring danger to a great organization I’ve worked hard for since 1969.”

COLLEAGUES ‘SHOCKED’

Keillor retired as the “Prairie Home” host in 2016. His hand-picked successor, mandolinist Chris Thile, is in his second season as “Prairie Home” host. He’s now in New York, where the next three episodes of “APHC” will air from the Town Hall. “I’m in shock,” Thile wrote in a Twitter post, “I know nothing beyond what’s contained (in MPR’s statement), but I trust that the proper steps are being taken.”

Sue Scott, an actor who worked with Keillor on “APHC” for 24 years, echoed that sentiment. “I was as shocked as anybody else,” Scott said. “I’m shocked and speechless.”

Scott described the work environment as “hyperfocused” on getting the show on the air each week. “There was always a sense of urgency and no time for socializing,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot of time to hang around and get in trouble.”

Keillor’s radio career began in 1969 when he joined an early version of what would become MPR just two years after it was founded. “A Prairie Home Companion” debuted in 1974.

Rick Shefchik covered Keillor when Shefchik was Pioneer Press media columnist for eight years beginning in 1980, when “APHC” began broadcasting nationally. He said he never heard any specific allegations against Keillor.

“When I heard Garrison Keillor’s name … and that he was fired by Minnesota Public Radio it momentarily caught me up,” Shefchik said. “It was not a name I was expecting, given the amount of time he has been in the public eye, the length of time he was with MPR and that he is 75. If someone has gone that long and up to that age and (we) never heard his name connected with that kind of behavior, then you probably think he is going to finish out his career without being accused.”

Shefchik said his time on the media beat coincided with the flowering of Keillor’s career as a writer, which took off in 1985 with the publication of “Lake Wobegon Days,” a bestselling novel that landed Keillor on the cover of Time magazine.

He has since written dozens of novels and short story collections, including “A Christmas Blizzard,” “Pilgrims: A Lake Wobegon Romance” and “WLT: A Radio Romance.” He’s also written essays, nonfiction and collections including “Good Poems,” an anthology of poetry he’s read on “The Writer’s Almanac,” and “77 Love Sonnets.”

Keillor, who is married to his third wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson, a violinist, owns St. Paul’s Common Good Books, an 11-year-old independent bookstore at Grand and Snelling avenues noted for its wide range of poetry and for hosting readings by major national and local writers.

When the store moved in 2012 from Selby Avenue to its current location, Keillor told visitors he wanted to own a bookstore because he grew up in the stacks of the Anoka public library. “I want a place where kids can hold books in their hands and find things you can’t find browsing the Amazon site,” he said.

When Common Good Books event manager David Enyeart was asked Wednesday about the allegations against Keillor, he said “absolutely and only no comment.”

WEDNESDAY SHOW CANCELED

Despite leaving “APHC,” Keillor has not left the stage. Over the summer, he embarked on a 28-city tour, which he claimed would be his last and included a stop at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. He’s currently on the road headlining theaters and clubs with musicians Robin and Linda Williams.

He was booked to play Pittsfield, Mass., on Wednesday night, followed by stops in Connecticut and New York through Sunday. Pittsfield’s Berkshire Theatre Group announced late Wednesday that Keillor’s show was canceled.

A couple of hours later at a Pittsfield restaurant, he told The Berkshire Eagle that it’s “bewildering” that he worked on a show he loved for decades, and “somebody else can torch it in one morning.”

“I don’t think that people should talk out of bewilderment,” he told the paper. “My situation is that I’ve worked extremely hard on a show that I love for almost 50 years, and somebody else can torch it in one morning, and so it’s all gone. And it’s a difficult thing to discuss.”

Keillor is scheduled to continue the tour in February, including a Feb. 20 performance at Minneapolis’ Cedar Cultural Center, although it’s unclear if those shows will still take place.

Other shows were cancelled Thursday.

Keillor is closely associated with Minnesota Public Radio and MPR owns St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater, the longtime home of “APHC.” But one industry observer said Wednesday he didn’t think Keillor’s termination would specifically hurt MPR’s image in the general public. Mike Janssen is digital editor for The Current, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit news service that covers public radio and television. He said many listeners don’t make the distinction between MPR, APM and the various other public radio entities.

“I think a lot of people just consider it all (created by) National Public Radio,” Janssen said.

Janssen said there will be an issue with filling the broadcast hours once occupied by repeats of Keillor’s “APHC.” Thile’s first season featured 13 installments, and that number doubled for his second season, with encores of classic shows filling in the gaps for the weekly broadcast. “A Prairie Home Companion” is carried by 580 public radio stations in the U.S. with an estimated weekly audience of 2.5 million, down from 4 million at its peak of popularity. Related Articles St. Thomas convenes group on renamings after learning namesake bishop owned slave

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Changing the name of the show, Janssen said, gives producers the opportunity to further distance themselves from Keillor. “You see a lot of talk on social media, particularly among younger people, that it’s been on the air too long and it’s not funny. I’m speculating, but this opens the door to change aspects of the show. It could be seen as an opportunity to make some big changes.”

Mary Ann Grossmann contributed to this report. This article contains information from the Associated Press.