Allen Media ABC affiliate WQOW/18 (Eau Claire) has added three new anchors to its evening newscasts, bringing back former longtime news anchor Keith Edwards. He’s joined by Jessica Djukic, who previously anchored at Rockfleet NBC affiliate WJFW/12 (Rhinelander), and new sports director Cooper Wild, who last worked at Allen’s WAOW/9 (Wausau). The three join chief meteorologist Matt Schaefer.
Griffin Wright has joined Gray NBC affiliate WEAU/13 (Eau Claire) as 6 and 10 p.m. co-anchor. Wright most recently worked as a reporter at Nexstar NBC affiliate WHO-DT/13 (Des Moines).
Tegna NBC affiliate KARE/11 (Minneapolis) has recently announced the additions of meteorologist Courtney Aitken and multi-skilled journalist Meghan MacPherson to the on-air team.
Ken Barlow, meteorologist at Hubbard ABC affiliate KSTP-TV/5 (St. Paul), is temporarily off the air following unexpected surgery. The station reports Barlow is expected to be out for about six weeks.
Coastal TV’s FOX 21 (KQDS-TV Duluth) has returned to a dual anchor format at 5:30 and 9 p.m. with former morning anchor Maria Vollum moving to the evenings.
iHeartMedia has reconfigured the programming on several Wisconsin Sports stations following last year’s shutdown of “97.3 The Game” (WRNW Milwaukee). At first, the former “Game” lineup had continued to air on iHeart’s WTSO/1070 (Madison) while the company’s WOKY/920 (Milwaukee) continued with national programming. Now, as first reported by RadioInsight, WOKY and WTSO are simulcasting a 5 to 8 a.m. show called “The Huddle” featuring former WRNW hosts Bill Schmid, Armen Saryan, and Drew Olson, with FOX Sports Radio programming airing the rest of its time. iHeart’s “98-7 The Fan” (WBIZ/1400 Eau Claire), which had mixed some shows from “The Game” with iHeart’s Minnesota-based “Fan” network, is now carrying the full “Fan” daytime lineup.
Prairie Public has announced plans to add Create to its DT2 channels serving North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, splitting time with existing World Channel programming. Beginning Feb. 1, PPB2 will air Create from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an hour of local Prairie Public programming at 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. World will air from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Create was not previously available in North Dakota.
Congratulations to news director J.P. Skelly, who is celebrating 40 years at KORN/1490 (Mitchell), a milestone reached by few in this business. “I walked through the door and never left. It’s been an adventure and a good one,” Skelly said.
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