I’m a Montana girl, born and raised. I was born in Sidney, Montana but when I was 6 my family moved to Whitefish. It’s a ski town, but I don’t ski or snowboard; I am fond of ice skating and sledding. Curling up with a cup of chai tea and reading a good book is also a great way to spend a cold day.

My venture into TV news started when I was on a local game show in high school called Brain Busters. I had so much fun taping the show and even more fun watching it when it aired a few weeks later. When I got to college I changed my major from Spanish to broadcast journalism. It was a natural fit and I’m so fortunate to have lucked into a profession I love. Now I actually enjoy being behind the scenes as a photographer just as much as being on TV every day as a reporter.

In college I was honored to win a Student Emmy with my classmates for our Made in Montana series. I’ve received several other awards from the Broadcast Education Association, Society of Professional Journalists, Oregon Associated Press and the Montana Broadcaster’s Association. Most recently I won the Alaska Press Club’s Best Solo Video Journalist, Best Light Feature and Best Same-day Feature. My spot news reporting also earned second and third place awards as well.

I’m the oldest of two girls. My sister Deanna is two-and-a-half years younger than I am. She got married four years ago to her wonderful husband Rob. My mom, Lynette, is the features editor for the Daily Interlake in Kalispell, Montana. I guess journalism just runs in my blood. My dad, Tim, works at a meat production plant in Kalispell.

My TV career has taken me from producing the 10 p.m. news for KPAX in Missoula, Montana to being the live morning reporter for KEZI in Eugene, Oregon. That’s also where I interviewed Barack Obama twice during the primary elections. Mark that off the career bucket list.

Alaska was never really a place I considered working. Then, a job opening came up and I thought, “Why not?” I’m always up for an adventure and so far the Last Frontier has yet to disappoint. I’ve played with baby walruses at the SeaLife Center in Seward and flown with an aerobatics pilot in Valdez. Heliskiing guides flew me back into the Chugach Range and dropped me off on a peak to shoot video of backcountry snowboarders. I’ve hopped aboard the last flag stop train in America in Talkeetna and taken a snow machine 40 miles up the Yenta River to cover the Iditarod. I’ve had so many great adventures in just two years: I can’t wait to see where the next couple take me.

Alaska truly is the Last Frontier of great storytelling. Although I’ve been a reporter in Alaska since 1988, my “to do” list of stories is ever a work in progress.

Whether it’s finding ways around the extreme weather or geographical challenges, or creative applications of new technology or ancient traditions, Alaskans are always pushing into new frontiers – and the opportunity to bring that story to you in all of its different incarnations is both an honor and privilege.

I guess I’ll always think of myself as a “Bushrat Journo.” Bushrat is a term popularized by the late Governor Jay Hammond. It was his way of saying that even though he lived in the city, his heart was in the Bush.

For me, it speaks to my roots at KYUK, the public radio and TV station in Bethel that broadcasts in both English and Yup’ik, the predominant Native language in Southwest Alaska. I was news director there for almost 10 years and was lucky to have worked alongside some pioneering Alaska Native journalists and storytellers, who shared their culture and subsistence lifestyle with me. From walrus meat, to salmon strips, to mouse food, I’ve had an authentic taste of life in Rural Alaska.

And no matter what job I’ve had, whether it was a producer for the Alaska Public Radio Network, a reporter at KTUU, or a one-year stint as Governor Sarah Palin’s Rural Advisor, this intimate knowledge of life in Rural Alaska has helped me find success. I’m proud to have been recognized three times by the Society of Professional Journalists as a Sigma Delta Chi winner, one of SPJ’s highest honors, for my coverage of rural voting patterns, fetal alcohol syndrome and climate change.

One of the jobs I enjoyed the most was hosting public affairs programs for KAKM-Channel 7, the public television station in Anchorage. I look forward to doing the same for KTVA and Denali Media, to help our audience come to grips with some of rural Alaska’s most pressing issues in both a talk-show format and in special reports. Denali Media’s vision and commitment to bring more in-depth statewide coverage convinces me that the best in Alaska journalism is yet to come.

As a Bushrat reporter, I never feel guilty about my arctic entry being cluttered with shoes and muddy boots. I swear, after all these years, the dust and grit of Bethel is still in my car. We bought it when my son was born, and now he’s grown into a young man.

He and his father have put up with my passion for story telling as long as they can remember, just as I’ve put up with their passion for music. Well, actually, I enjoy it and have tried to join them by strumming on a ukulele or a stand-up bass. Let’s just say I’m a better appreciator of music than I am a player, and there’s no danger of giving up my day job.

Don’t worry. I’ll keep working here at KTVA to bring you those stories with “ah, hah” moments. One thing is true about being a reporter in Alaska. The more you know, sometimes the less you know. That makes every day a new frontier.

I arrived in Alaska from Louisiana by way of Indiana and Texas and Kentucky and Virginia.

It was an unexpected phone call in March that started my Alaskan adventure. It’s a journey that involves planes, a helicopter, glaciers, forgotten wallets and lots of uncertainty. Ultimately, I knew I would be a fool and wonder “what if” for the rest of my life if I passed up the amazing opportunity to join the team at Denali Media.

My love affair with news started in high school. My local police department was thrust in a PR battle after being the center of a TV newsmagazine “investigation.” I remember tuning in to that episode proud my hometown was getting recognition. The story, as presented, quickly had me wishing I lived somewhere else along the vast stretch of I-10; anywhere in Louisiana would have been fine.

A week later officers were in front of my magazine/publishing class giving their side of the story. That’s when I learned it’s a good idea to question things, everything. I later realized there are usually three sides to every story/situation … theirs, yours and the truth.

It is a desire to wade through all the information to get to the truth, the real truth, that drives me every day. It’s a joke in many newsrooms: why let the facts get in the way of a good story? That’s not a joke to me. It’s sacrilegious.

Right now, I have the chance to work with some of the best technical minds in the industry. The editorial experience of the people I get to call colleagues and friends is astounding.

Sure, it’s easy to be excited about where I come to work everyday – the new toys, shiny new set and technology I didn’t know existed, but what really puts a smile on my face is my drive to work. Every morning I am greeted by mountains, MOUNTAINS, I tell you, as the backdrop to start my day.

Brett Shepard

Weather is my life. I have been forecasting the weather in Alaska since October 2002.

I graduated from Western Illinois University in May 2002 with a B.S. in meteorology and a minor in broadcasting. The advent of The Weather Channel in the 80s is what really got me interested in weather. I was the weird kid growing up who was more interested in watching weather 24/7 on TV rather than watching sports. My love of skiing really sparked this interest as I always wanted to find out what parts of the country were getting new snow and where the good skiing would be found.

I grew up a Navy brat and was lucky enough to get to see a lot of the U.S. growing up. I’ve visited 45 of the 50 states. Idaho, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine are the states I still need to mark off my list. My father has long since retired and he and my mother run a farm in Illinois that has been in our family for more than 100 years. The primary crops on the farm are corn and soybeans. I am the oldest of three and I have two sisters who live in Iowa.

When I originally moved to Alaska in 2002 I thought I would only be here a year or two. A year or two has turned into 11 and counting. My love of the outdoors has really helped to keep me here in Alaska. On my time off you will find me out and about skiing (downhill & cross country), hiking, playing soccer, golfing, and biking. Biking is what I have really gotten into over the past few years; so much so that I have even started working part-time at a local bike shop and participating in some local mountain bike races this past year. You will also find me out and about with my dog Einstein. He’s my basset hound buddy.

I do a lot of volunteer work with the American Lung Association in Alaska. I am a member of their leadership council and I am on the organizing committee for their annual Clean Air Challenge biking fundraiser. I am a lifelong asthma sufferer, so this organization and their events really mean a lot to me.

Gary Donovan

I was raised on a dairy farm in a small town in upstate Washington with a population of 634 (which changed to 633 when I left). I had four childhood goals:

1. Avoid any career that involved cows
2. Play in the NFL
3. Play in a band
4. Be on the radio

I have successfully avoided cows, never made the NFL, played in several bands (I play drums poorly, bass not quite that well and struggle with chopsticks on the piano) and took my first job as a radio disc jockey and sports reporter at age 16. I moved to Alaska for “18 months” in 1976 to be the Program Director of KENI Radio, which was then a Top-40 station. I fell in love with broadcasting and the opportunities Alaska afforded and never left. I’m thrilled to be a part of the team that will make KTVA “First in Alaska”.

Trent McNelly

I’m a geek and a nerd and have been since I was three years old. One of my earliest memories is when I was three and for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to chew on the end of an extension cord that was plugged into the wall. That was just the first of thousands of “shocks” that have helped shape my life!

I was born in Iowa and lived in Iowa and Northern Minnesota until I was 16 when my parents moved us to Fairbanks, Alaska. As a kid I was always doing something with science and wires. When I was 12 I started the local chapter of the Mad Scientists Club. There were seven of us in the club and I still have the minutes from some of our meetings. One of our projects was to build a club house (tree house), and in the middle of the night I buried a cord to a neighbor’s garage so we could have electricity and I buried another pair of wires to my house about 1,000 feet away so I could hook up a phone extension. So we had a tree house with electricity and a working phone.

In high school I was still a geek, but was also learning and building leadership skills. I was an officer in both student government and the school band. I was captain of the football team, but also hung out with the theatre kids because they had lights, sound effects and cables to mess with.

I started working at a paying job when I was 15, and by the time I was 16 I was working full time. I spent two years when I was 17 and 18 working for an electrical contractor doing commercial and residential electrical work. This was a full time, 40 hour a week job. I worked from 3 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and often put in some time on the weekends. This was in 1979 through late 1981 and I was making $10 per hour while still living at home. I had a really cool home and car stereo!

The summer after I graduated high school I was in charge of a four-person crew replacing all the outdoor light fixtures at all the Chevron stations in Fairbanks. I really had to hone my leadership skills on that job, because at first, the 35-year-old guys I was supervising didn’t want to take direction from “This Kid.”

That fall the contractor I was working for ran out of work and I was laid off for the only time in my life. I spent three weeks unemployed and then landed a job at a local radio station. In the same building as the radio station there was a small TV production company. Within four months of going to work at the radio station, I was also going on shoots with the TV production company and I was hooked! Here was a job where I could constantly mess with technology, exercise some creativity and work on something different almost every week. That was in the fall of 1981 and I have been working in broadcasting ever since.

Along in that same time period I had some other fun things going on in my life. On a student council trip in the fall of my senior year of high school I was smitten with a girl who was on the trip. Leslie and I started dating a week after that trip. Two years later I asked her to marry me for the first time and she said no, we were too young. I can be stubborn and persistent and a year later when I asked her for the third time, she finally agreed! We were married in 1984 and have been together ever since. In 1991 our first and only child was born. Samantha is now a senior in college and is the best thing I ever helped to “build.”

The year before we were married, I bought a piece of land and started building a house. I was building the house “out of pocket” and did not have a loan. I lived in the house while I was building it, so I have some cool stories about the first winter when the only heat I had was from a wood stove and the only plumbing was an outhouse. By the time we were married I did have a flush toilet, but we continued to heat with wood for another year before we bought a furnace.

In 1988 Leslie and I moved to Anchorage from Fairbanks and I went to work at a post-production facility. We sold our house in Fairbanks and I used the money to start my own company specializing in live remote TV production. I ran this company while working at the post house for a couple of years, and in 1991 I left the post house to run my company, Alaska Mobile Productions, full time. We did mostly college hockey and basketball coverage but also did some high school sports work. I also started doing work for KIMO and KTUU when they needed help with live remotes. In 1991 I started doing live start and finish coverage of the Iditarod and also that year I was hired by ESPN to do the live coverage of the Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament that was carried live nationwide. I continued to work on the live Shootout coverage for 18 years and have worked on live coverage of the Iditarod for 20 years.

I am a work-a-holic and I’m not ashamed to admit it. While I was self-employed my work hours got steadily longer and longer, and in late 1995 Leslie told me I had to choose. It was her or the company. The company was for sale the next week and I was lucky to sell it to KTUU in February 1996. As a part of the sales agreement, I went to work at KTUU as the operations manager and the manager of the newest KTUU department, Alaska Mobile Productions! So I sold the company, but got to keep doing the work I loved. I just didn’t have to do all the sales, accounting and HR work all by myself.

I worked at KTUU for almost 14 years, and in that time we built a new truck for live remote production, we built Alaska’s first TV uplink truck and also purchased the first “flyaway” uplink in the state. In 2004 I was honored to be named “Alaska Broadcaster of the Year” by the Alaska Broadcasters Association and I’m thrilled to add this to the couple dozen other awards I’ve gotten from the ABA for live production and editing.

It was also during this time at KTUU when I really got involved with TV news. I love the excitement and ever-changing priorities the news environment provides. News is also a great fit for live remote production. I enjoy many parts of the television business, but I will always put live remote production at the top of my favorites list. In my time at KTUU I did more than 2,600 uplinks, worked on more than 500 multi-camera remote productions and did live work in 22 states and in Canada.

In late 2009 I left KTUU and moved to Burbank, Calif., and went to work for NBC Network News. For three years I was the senior manager of field operations for the West Coast. This was a great job and I met lots of wonderful people and started learning about this cool thing called HDTV. The time I spent at NBC taught me that there are good people wherever you go and there is a reason that 10 million people live in Southern California. The weather is GREAT in L.A., with more than 300 days of sun a year, but then there is the traffic that comes with 10 million people …

The only drawback to the job with NBC is that they are a union company and I was a manager, so I could not actually operate any of the equipment. As a lifelong geek, tinkerer and hands-on field guy, this was a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. I really missed working with my hands both inside the studio and in the field.

Luckily for me, in November 2012 I got a call from my friend and the former news director of KTUU, John Tracy. John told me about this amazing new business in Alaska — Denali Media Holdings. A week after John and I talked on the phone, I met with Bill Behnke from GCI and a week after that, I accepted my current job as director of engineering and operations for Denali Media. I happily moved back to Anchorage from L.A. in January 2013 and since then I’ve been living the dream of building and working in the best TV facility in Alaska!

Denali Media and KTVA are going to change the face of Television in Alaska. I can’t begin to explain what a thrill it is to be able to build a brand new, state of the art, television company from the ground up! Our parent company, GCI, has been wonderfully supportive and has encouraged us to “do this the right way.” While I can’t say we have spared no expense, we have been able to purchase some of the best tools in our industry. In addition to great facilities, Denali Media is building a staff that I am proud to be a part of. We are not going to be a company that overloads our employees and asks reporters to shoot, shooters to report and engineers to juggle too many responsibilities. Our priority is quality programming and storytelling and we have the personnel and technical resources to do this job the way it should be done. The staff here at Denali Media is going to set a new standard for quality in Alaska and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this effort!

I should tell you that TV and my family are not the only things I love. I’ve been a scuba diver since 1976 when I learned to dive in Lake Superior in Minnesota. I have kept diving whenever I can and both my wife Leslie and my daughter Samantha are divers as well. I hold the certification of PADI Divemaster and it is my goal to someday spend several months a year working part time as a dive guide in Kona Hawaii (preferably in January, February and March!) Leslie is a born and raised Alaskan and after 35 years I will never get Alaska out of my system. I hope to keep working on live TV in Alaska until I can’t work anymore and I hope to keep diving in Hawaii until I can’t swim anymore!

While moving to Alaska back in 1992 via the state ferry system, a logger returning from the holidays told me, “Alaska will either wrap her arms around you and never let go, or she’ll chew you up and spit you right back down to the lower 48.” Twenty-two years later, she still won’t let go.

I started my broadcasting career in radio back in the Land of Oz, Kansas. While getting my journalism degree at the University of Kansas, I started working at KCFX-FM in Kansas City. Classic Rock and the Kansas City Chiefs, a great combination! After working in Kansas for a while, I went looking for adventure. That adventure involved driving northwest from Kansas and catching a ride north on the Alaska Marine Highway. After a leisurely drive in from Skagway (in the first part of January!), I arrived at my destination. I’d taken a Radio job in Fairbanks Alaska, sight unseen. I’ve never looked back.

Fairbanks was a wonderful place to begin my Alaskan adventure. Great community, wonderful people and a great introduction to Alaska. While in Fairbanks I worked in Radio and TV (KTVF, KXLR, KCBF, KUSA), then in 1997 transferred to Anchorage to begin working at KTVA, KNIK and KBYR.

I also serve as Anchorage South Rotary Past President, Anchorage Broadcast Television Consortium President and Alaska Broadcasters Association board member.

My spare time is consumed by my 14-year-old boys, guitar playing, being a Rotarian and more guitar playing.

Kirsten Swann

When I was in grade school, my family drove up the Alaska Highway in an old Suburban packed with kids and dogs and almost everything we owned. We spent the next decade exploring our new home together, and while I enjoyed seeing new parts of Alaska, I spent a lot of those childhood camping trips sitting in the tent reading a book.

I’ve always loved words, both written and spoken. Journalism combines the opportunity to keep learning about my state with the daily chance to share stories and experiences unique to the Last Frontier. I’m particularly fascinated by small business and local politics: My favorite workdays are spent sitting in a Chamber of Commerce meeting or the back row of a municipal budget work session somewhere deep inside City Hall.

After hours, I hang out in Spenard with my husband and two dogs. We like the park across the street and the beach down the road, and connect with talented Alaskan kids in Anchorage and Bethel through volunteer work with the AK PRIDE teen media club. I’m always excited about the chance to connect with more of the people who call Alaska home.

MJ Thim

Hey!

My name is MJ Thim.

I am the Digital Content Manager. I oversee all the digital platforms for KTVA 11′s News Department. You will see me and my team busting out some great online content. You will also see me on-air occasionally reporting about cool tech things!

Let me share with you a little bit about my journey. I am country mouse that grew up with two big East Coast cities in my backyard. Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

My dad is a retired cop and my mom is a retired public school teacher. I have three sisters and grew up in the middle. I am closest to my younger sister but don’t tell that to my older sisters. Yes, I am the only boy and that should explain everything. I have a ton of nephew and nieces.

Spirituality is important to me. Faith is the foundation of my family.

I grew up around television journalism. My parents always watched the news. It was always on in the mornings and in the evenings. Because Baltimore and D.C. were in broadcast range, I had exposure to two large markets. The bug bit me when I was home from elementary school for a snow day. A local morning talk show called People Are Talking debuted that year on WJZ-TV in Baltimore. The female co-host “charmed” (B-more shout out, hon’) the show and me. It changed my life. Her name…Oprah Winfrey.

When I went back to school the next day, I threw myself into anything that would put me out front and center. The drama director saw an immediate change and asked me to join her group even though auditions were months prior. After school, my younger sister and me would reenact the news by tape recording ourselves with a microphone and a cassette player. She still has the tapes for blackmail purposes. When I got to middle school, I co-anchored the morning TV newscasts with the principal. Then in high school I joined the school newspaper and continued doing the morning news with the principal. The only difference was the high school didn’t do it on TV. It was done via the intercom system. In college, I did as many internships as possible with local TV stations. I even was asked to report a few times.

However, things took a dramatic shift after I graduated college. I didn’t continue my on-air journey. I went behind-the-scenes and joined the management ranks. It would be 20 years before I would back in front of the camera. The short version of why it took me so long to get back on-air: I was living life from a place of fear. You see, starting in elementary school I was severely bullied and abused because I was gay. I was afraid to put myself out there for fear of being rejected. I knew I needed to make a change so I risked it all and came to Alaska to do it.

I am a big believer in community. The book “Community” by Peter Block also changed my life. I involve myself in many charity events and non-profit organizations, whether as an event volunteer or a member of the board of directors. One community closest to my heart is the special needs community because many of my family members are special needs. Most recently, I was the co-chair and emcee of the Anchorage Mayor’s 20^th Anniversary Charity Ball.

I am very excited to be part of KTVA-TV’s next chapter and to honor the legacy of Augie Hiebert and Norma Goodman.

Go team!

Hope Miller

I’m thrilled to be living in The Last Frontier and working in the journalism field. I was born and raised in Midland, Texas, and later moved to the Dallas area. I’ve always loved to write and learn new things, but it wasn’t until I took a newspaper class in high school that I discovered my passion for journalism. I attended college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and it was there that I honed my skills as a reporter.

Through working for my college paper and interning at local news sources and The New York Times Phoenix bureau, I gained valuable experiences and met fascinating people. I also served as a copy editor for my college literature and art magazine and enjoy all forms of art. I had my first experience working in broadcast for the FOX and ABC affiliates in Anchorage as a production assistant and found that I had a blast working in television. I’m always on the lookout for stories and interesting ways to tell those tales.

James Gaddis

“If you love it so much, why don’t you move there?” I honestly don’t remember who said it, but for years the question never left the back of my mind. So, in September of 2013, I embarked on a road trip across the continent to fulfill a dream of living in Alaska and a career goal of becoming a morning news anchor.

My previous gig was at top-rated and award-winning NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse, New York. “Orange Nation” counted on me to anchor top-notch newscasts on the weekend. During the week, I prided myself on telling compelling and memorable stories out in the field. After work, I was the last line of defense on the soccer pitch. A long-time goalkeeper, I made sure to bring my gloves to Anchorage.

An avid photographer, I first fell in love with Alaska through the lens of my DSLR while on vacation with viewers of WBNG in Binghamton, New York. A central figure of the Action News team from 2004-2010, I was entrusted to cover historic flooding and anchor live, continuous coverage of the mass shooting in 2009 at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton.

A graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, I trekked out to KREX in Grand Junction, Colorado for my first reporting gig in 2003.

I am the oldest of four kids and grew up by the beautiful beaches of Long Island. Although early aspirations of being an astronaut (ask me about space camp in 6th grade) or archaeologist didn’t pan out, I eventually grew to love creative writing and was typically the first student in class ready and willing to read my work out loud. Little did I know I would one day make a career of it.

In the back seat during my coast-to-coast road trip to Anchorage was my beagle Obi, named after Obi Wan Kenobi of Star Wars fame. I will never hesitate to admit I’ve got a serious dorky side, helping to balance my appreciation of nature, art and love of sports; especially the Yankees, Jets, Islanders and Knicks.

Now focused on all things Alaska, I have a sincere desire to inform, educate, entertain and inspire viewers here, using all the tools the new KTVA has to offer.

I grew up between my childhood home in West Virginia and Gainesville, Florida,  so that’s just like Anchorage, right?

There are really a ton of similarities and I’m excited to explore all the differences.

Alaska reminds me of the Mountain State: Both states are rich in natural beauty, resources and adventure! Of course I love being on the water and fishing, too.

I’ve covered every type of sports event and championship across the Lower 48 and look forward to covering snow sports and dog races, in addition to everything else. I found sports before I found journalism; the two came together at a basketball game when I was 9. I wrote an article (in AP style), made 25 copies and two decades later I’m still at it.

Along with my work in Alaska, I’m also a field reporter for ESPN’s College Football coverage. In 2013 I was nominated for an Emmy for my work there.

I love listening to baseball on the radio, watching races from the pit box, Christmastime and traveling with my family.

I was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska and I am very happy to be back home!

As a teenager, I dreamed of becoming a choreographer but quickly learned that my lack of rhythm wasn’t going to get me far. After high school, I attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where I met a journalism professor who changed my life. Because of his class, I switched my major to journalism and developed a passion for storytelling.

This led to a job right out of college as a morning anchor in my hometown. After that, I worked as a reporter and eventually weekend anchor at KTVA in Anchorage. I then took a reporting job in Arizona where I was able to defrost after surviving Anchorage’s snowiest winter. While living in the Lower 48, I learned about the new transformation of KTVA-TV and knew I wanted to be involved.

I look forward to working with this talented team that understands the importance of storytelling!

When I’m not working, you can find me exploring the outdoors.

The people are what make Alaska great; the natural beauty wildlife are just a bonus! I grew up in Nikiski, AK and love being able to share stories and current events with my family, friends and community before they start their day.

On Daybreak, I can share my love for a good cup of coffee and a laugh or two in the morning!

I enjoy yoga, hiking and gardening in my free time.

If you have a story idea; email me, mmazurek@ktva.com

I’m one of those lucky people doing exactly what I’d hoped while growing up in East Meadow, New York. As a graduate of the University of Maryland, I spent many memorable summers lifeguarding at country clubs on Long Island and as an usher at Shea Stadium for the New York Mets. I thought cool jobs were a good idea so becoming a sportscaster was the way to go.

I thought I’d finish my career on the East Coast, but the opportunity to work with a first-class staff and operation was simply too good to pass up. It was truly an honor when KTVA offered me the chance to become its sports director and more importantly, part of the team. I come to Alaska by way of CTV in Largo, Maryland, a Washington D.C. suburb. There, I served as the sports director and chief sports photographer and had the opportunity to cover every major sport and championship across the country from the grassroots to the pros. But local storytelling has always been my professional foundation. It ensures that the stories which should be told are being told.

Additionally, I’ve been the play-by-play voice of Coppin State College and the University of Maryland-Baltimore for basketball and lacrosse, an anchor at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C. and a television reporter and producer for the Baltimore Sun High School Sports Show.

News has also been an important part of my career. As a reporter and photographer, I covered all three crash sites following 9/11 and have shot documentaries on education, crime, the ecosystem of South Florida, fracking in the Mid-Atlantic region and U.S. Marine training in Parris Island, S.C. I’ve even been out in two hurricanes and while I got wet, the camera stayed dry. Now I’m getting ready for what the Last Frontier has waiting.

In high school I lettered in soccer, wrestling and lacrosse and in July 2000 completed the Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, New York. My parents and grandparents instilled in me the importance of helping others and outside of work, I’m active in Boy and Girl Scouts, mentoring youth, the American Cancer Society and Christmas in April, which rebuilds homes for those in need. Now, I am privileged to help build the KTVA sports department: Yes, another cool job!

But the greatest joy in my life is my family. My wife Jenny and our children Hannah and Sam are looking forward to becoming active members in the community and making Alaska home. And that’s very cool.

I grew up in Southern California and as an avid outdoorsman, I love fishing, hiking, skiing, and many other outdoor sports where it’s pretty important to know the weather. For as long as I can remember, monitoring the weather has been an exciting part of my life. And I love to talk. So it was only natural for me to become a weatherman on TV where I could share my excitement.

I went to California State University at Northridge and polished my broadcast journalism skills at San Diego City College. I became a meteorologist through Mississippi State University and have an American Meteorologial Society (AMS) Seal of Approval.

I started the first four years of my adventure in broadcast meteorology in San Diego as a weather producer and news writer. After that I was at the number one rated station in Yuma, Arizona where I was the main weather anchor for more than two years. Then I went to Reno, Nevada to be the morning meteorologist on the top morning news program where I also co-hosted, did in-studio interviews, and did live shots throughout the community. In Portland, Oregon I was the weekend meteorologist and reported on breaking weather and environmental stories, too.

All along my journey, viewers have told me they pick up on my passion for weather and that they can tell that I love what I’m doing.

For me, being surrounded by Alaska’s breathtaking, world-class landscape doesn’t just mean I get to look at picture postcard scenery every day — it’s like I get to live inside a picture postcard every day. Add to that, being able to forecast the Last Frontier’s dynamic weather at the new KTVA with its state of the art weather technology and newsroom and our seasoned team, and it’s a dream come true. Join us at KTVA where the adventure is just beginning!

Growing up in Minneapolis in a family with a rich history of reporting the news, I caught the journalism bug at the tender age of 5. There’s a picture of me holding a spoon, pretending to report the “breaking news” that Santa was about to arrive from the Christmas tree. My grandfather owned a small-town paper in rural Minnesota, my mom was an editor for a real estate magazine and my uncle is also a television reporter and anchor.

I love the news because I love telling people’s stories. It’s my job to find the information that you want, need and require to live better lives and I take that responsibility very seriously. I strive to find the stories, injustices and people that would not otherwise be heard it if weren’t for the news platform. I love meeting people – every person I interview touches and shapes my life in a different way. If you see me around town, say hi! I’m friendly and I would love to meet you.

One of my proudest moments in my career was when I told the story of the Rozga family. Their son committed suicide after he smoked the synthetic drug K2. I helped them tell their story, and contacted state legislators who eventually passed a law in Iowa banning the substance. The Rozgas even testified before the U.S. Senate, which pulled the drug from shelves all across the country. Telling stories that inspire change is my passion. In Des Moines, I worked with several families who lost loves ones to tell the tragedies of drinking and driving. With the help of MADD, the stories shone a light on the number of offenders who were not only drinking and driving, but getting arrested only to go out and drink and drive again. In 2010, the state imposed stricter rules for repeat offenders, including ignition interlock devices, a machine that prevents drivers from operating their car under the influence.

My husband and I first visited Alaska four days before we were married. After a glimpse of the mountains, a taste of the fresh air, and some delicious salmon, we were hooked. Our 5-year-old Weimaraner, Hank, loves our weekend hikes (even if he is deathly afraid of moose). My childhood was spent in chilly ice rinks where I trained to be a figure skater. For 13 years, I spent four hours a day dedicated to the dream of landing a triple salchow. While I never defeated Michelle Kwan, I did receive one of the most significant accomplishments in figure skating: passing a series of eight tests to win a gold medal, equivalent to earning a Ph.D. in academics. These days I love practicing hot yoga, reading, running, cooking with my husband and hiking. We are determined to climb as many mountains as we can in Alaska. On Sundays during football season, you can find me yelling at my Minnesota Vikings, most of the time in frustration!

I’m thrilled to be part of the new KTVA news team. Almost everything about us may be new, but we are doing things right. Look for solid news coverage from a crew that is excited to be here and tell you interesting, informative and well-thought-out stories. I haven’t been this excited about a job since, well, ever.

Emily Carlson, Anchor/Reporter

I can remember 50 below wind chill weather as a kid growing up in Willmar, Minn. I know parts of Alaska may get that cold, so I feel right at home here in the Land of the Midnight Sun!

This is my twenty-second year working in television news. Watching news in high school I was always fascinated with the concept of live, on-the-spot news. At the same time, I also became interested in photography. I used a $50 gift certificate to help purchase a Pentax K-1000 fully manual camera, after being named “Employee of the Month” at a Hardee’s fast food restaurant. I later enrolled in black-and-white and color photography classes in college, because the first pictures I snapped with my new camera were horrible! Those classes led me to St. Cloud State University’s mass communications program, which included a television station on campus run by students.

I landed my first job after college while covering a murder trial as an intern for KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Someone from another station was surprised that I was covering the trial as an intern. That station hired me, and that was the official start of my long journalism career. I have also anchored and reported at TV stations in Lawton, Oklahoma and Lubbock, Texas, but the bulk of my career was spent working in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There, I covered dozens of ferocious wildfires, including the destructive Cerro Grande Fire that threatened Los Alamos National Laboratory and destroyed numerous homes.

I have been honored with numerous journalism awards, including for my wildfire coverage. I have been named Top News Reporter in New Mexico. I have also received different awards for a number of in-depth investigations, including two separate first place awards for my reporting on structurally deficient bridges in Oklahoma. Another long-term investigation in New Mexico resulted in the arrest of more than 50 convicted sex offenders who broke the law by failing to update authorities where they were living.

I learned long ago that journalism can lead to change. I do what I do because I care about my community. I am here in Alaska because of the new KTVA. The chance to tell stories about the people in Alaska and the station’s commitment to exceptional journalism made for an opportunity I could not pass up. Anchorage is a perfect place for my family, considering we all love to hike and bike. I also enjoy golfing and fishing. I am married and have two young children, who will love the snow!

As an Anchorage native I am excited to cover the issues that matter most to my community, friends and family. My dad was a member of the U.S. Air Force, and growing up on JBER, my childhood friends and I took pride in being “military brats.” I loved the opportunities the military provided for my family to travel.

I was born in Tokyo and lived in Japan until the age of seven, when we moved to Alaska. Early on, I became fascinated with learning more about how people live their lives around the world.

I graduated from Service High School in 2008 (Go Cougars!), and hopped the pond to study journalism at La Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca in Spain, soon after. As a student there, I was able to participate in exchange programs to France and Belgium.

When I’m not working at KTVA, I like to put my language skills to use as an interpreter/translator with the Alaska Immigration for Justice Project.

Living outside of the United States has allowed me a privileged perspective on Alaska’s reputation abroad, and has rekindled my love for this land that is so extraordinary.

It’s great to be back!

There are only two things I’ve been interested in since I was a kid: weather and visiting new places.

So, when KTVA called and asked if I wanted to move to Alaska to do the weather I said, “YES!” Alaska is about as far away from my southern roots as I can get. I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, the home of Mardi Gras, heat and humidity, and the Gulf of Mexico’s beautiful beaches.

My family does have an Alaska connection though.  My grandfather was stationed at JBER back in 1973, so my grandparents left Idaho with their four boys (including my dad) and drove all the way up the Alaska Highway when it was still gravel. My dad graduated from Bartlett High School before heading back to the lower 48. Little did I know that I would set out on a similar adventure 42 years later!

I previously spent three years working in the Bayou State. KALB in Alexandria, Louisiana gave me my first shot at working in TV. I spent two years there eating crawfish and working as a meteorologist, anchor, and reporter. After that I headed to WVLA in Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, where I spent another year.

Before the journey all began I spent four years at the University of South Alabama, where I earned a B.S. in meteorology. Two years later, I received an M.S. degree in geosciences from Mississippi State University. During my time with MSU I had the opportunity to go storm chasing on the Great Plains. My chase group was front and center when the widest tornado in recorded history touched down in El Reno, Oklahoma!

When I’m not forecasting the weather I love cooking, riding my bike, and traveling. The most interesting place I’ve ever been is Reykjavik, Iceland. I’m looking forward to exploring as much of Alaska as possible, learning how to make a mean salmon dish, and hitting the beautiful bike trails here.

So grab that coffee, and I’ll see you on Daybreak!