Longtime Twin Cities sports journalist Larry Fitzgerald, Sr. has died at 71. Fitzgerald wrote for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder for more than 45 years. On the broadcast side, Fitzgerald worked at KMOJ/89.9 and other radio stations, and was a regular guest on Twin Cities PBS’ “Almanac.” Here he is doing a quick promo on WDGY/630 in 1994:
Fitzgerald was known nationally for covering his son’s appearance in the Super Bowl.
My father was a man of strength, love and encouragement. He opened countless doors for me and my brother. He believed in us and pushed us to pursue every opportunity with conviction, he was the rock of our family. He taught us that perseverance, hard work, and unwavering… pic.twitter.com/kgszHR8m3b
— Larry Fitzgerald (@LarryFitzgerald) June 2, 2026
Twin Cities TV veteran John Henk has died at 74 after a battle with esophageal cancer. According to his obituary, Henk began as a sports journalist at KSTP-TV/5 and later worked in Cleveland and Sacramento, returning to Minnesota to become sports director at FOX 29 (WFTC) when the station launched newscasts in 2001. He retired five years later.
Former ABC News regional news producer Kevin Kraus has died at 66. Kraus worked with affiliate newsrooms during his 20 years at ABC, including stations in the Upper Midwest, and also worked at stations in Chicago and Miami. According to his obituary, Kraus was one of the world’s longest survivors of HIV/AIDS, having been diagnosed in 1986.
Departures
Meteorologist Ryan Kudish has departed Nexstar CBS affiliate WFRV/5 (Green Bay).
News reporter Olivia Tyler has departed Hearst CBS affiliate KCCI/8 (Des Moines) for a new job in Orlando.
Sports anchor Daniel Chiarelli has departed Gray NBC/CBS affiliate KBJR/6 (Superior-Duluth).
News anchor Katie Copple has departed Gray NBC affiliate KTIV/4 (Sioux City) for a new job outside the media.
Anchor/reporter Gabriela Quinones has departed KTIV for a new job in South Carolina.
Meteorologist Owen Basselman has departed KTIV for a new job in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Ladysmith News reports that Bob Krejcarek has retired after more than 50 years at WLDY/1340 and WJBL/93.1 (Ladysmith, Wis.) He was morning host for most of his time at the station.
54 Scripps stations in 36 markets are off DirecTV amid a retransmission consent dispute. The affected stations include NBC affiliates WTMJ-TV/4 (Milwaukee) and WGBA/26 (Green Bay) and CBS affiliate KMTV/3 (Omaha). The outages began at 6 p.m. Central time on May 31. As per tradition, each side issued a news release saying the other party was the one that physically pulled the plug. Here’s Scripps news release and here’s DirecTV’s.
“Q107” (WMQT/107.7 Ishpeming-Marquette) has started carrying the syndicated “Liveline with Mason” Monday through Saturday evenings.
In case you missed it here:
- Riverfront Broadcasting Buys Watertown Group for $350,000
- FCC Monitor: Antenna Damage Takes Nebraska FM Station Off Air
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Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Media Group. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.