Leading Ladies: Four local evening anchors tell their journalism stories

Abigail Blonigen

With today’s 24-hour news cycle, we depend on local journalists to keep us informed on what’s going on in our communities, nation and world. They become anchors — not just of their respective TV stations, but of our living rooms, their smiling faces becoming part of our daily routine.

The Woman Today interviewed four evening anchors from local stations to learn what goes on behind the screen, who they are off the air, and how they take care of themselves in an industry that never sleeps.

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Alexandra Burnley, Fox 21

Alexandra Burnley grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and obtained her degree in digital and broadcast journalism from the University of Georgia. She has Minnesota roots, as she used to attend Camp Birchwood in Laporte, and her mother grew up in Hibbing.

Burnley is currently an evening news anchor at Fox 21 and has been in the broadcast business for about five years. She previously worked in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

At what point did you realize you wanted to be a television reporter?

When I was a junior in high school. I loved history and English, so I combined those two to get journalism since you are writing the first draft of history. I was set on starting out as a writer for a newspaper or magazine.

I was a pretty shy person at the time, but after a public speaking class, I grew more interested in broadcast and working on growing that aspect of myself. With broadcast journalism, you get to show more, and I still do a fair amount of in-depth writing with web articles. Broadcasting is the best of both worlds.

Who is someone you look up to or inspired you to become a reporter?

Lisa Guerrero at “Inside Edition” is inspiring with the way she fearlessly chases after people. She has done some amazing exposés where she has called people out in the middle of wrongdoing. These people can be very dangerous, but she walks right up to them, cameras rolling and fires away questions. Whenever I need some inspiration, I look at her stories and the way she operates.

How do you find balance between work and your personal life?

This past summer, I bought a bike. It was the best purchase because it took me all over: up the North Shore, around Duluth, the Munger Trail, the Lakewalk. It pushed me to explore Duluth on my own.

I also love being with my two cats, Kingsley and Mia. When I come home at night after working long hours, they are there waiting for me. And of course, watching Netflix to decompress and relax.

Can you tell us something about yourself that viewers may not know?

I was a sailing instructor growing up. When I was 16, I started a job at our local marina and worked there for several summers teaching kids camp. Those were some of my best summers.

Do you have a story that has stuck out as your favorite or the most challenging to cover?

The most challenging story I did was back in Green Bay. We were working on this big story where a Green Bay city councilor had pages of complaints filed against him for his behavior toward city employees. He denied it all and was pretty hostile about it.

I confronted him after a meeting on camera. He shoved a piece of paper at me and said that it was all a lie. I flipped through the report and told him that the form he gave me didn’t disprove the allegations. He continued to deny the complaints and was voted out in the next election.

It was rewarding to stick to my guns when he was calling me a liar to my face. Not everything is so cut and dry in journalism. If someone denies something, you have to put that in the story. It doesn’t matter what you believe, you have to show both sides.

Bonney Bowman, KBJR

Bonney Bowman grew up in Chicago and earned her journalism degree from the University of Missouri. KBJR is her fifth TV station; she previously worked in Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan and Alaska.

Bowman has 13 years of experience in the broadcasting industry. She made the transition to anchor in her previous role and is now the full-time evening anchor at KBJR.

At what point did you realize you wanted to be a television reporter?

It was sophomore year of high school. I really enjoyed public speaking and writing. I was watching the news after school with my mom one day and she had the lightbulb moment. It fit with everything I enjoyed doing academically, and once I’d done some research about what the job entailed and what a career might look like, it fit what I wanted to do personally.

Being able to tell a good story sometimes involves that visual medium of the video and the voice and the writing all coming together.

Who is someone you look up to or inspired you to become a reporter?

A role model of mine currently on air is Norah O’Donnell. Leading a major network is a high-pressure job, and she handles it with such grace and determination. The way she brings emotion and empathy to the anchor desk is inspiring. I don’t think many male anchors are as comfortable sharing those parts of themselves, and I really admire her for it.

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How do you find balance between work and your personal life?

I set pretty firm boundaries for myself because it is so easy to get sucked into the news cycle and be constantly keyed in. I make sure when I get home, I switch off. Otherwise I’d never go to sleep. It’s partly my job, but it’s also my interest as a journalist to see what’s going on.

I have a couple of dogs and cats, so I make sure that I go out for walks everyday with the dogs. I love hiking. I completed the Superior Hiking Trail Summit Challenge this last summer. This coming summer, I hope to hike the entire trail from end to end. I also really enjoy baking, that you can take all of these random ingredients and create something delicious.

Can you tell us something about yourself that viewers may not know?

I’m a first-generation American. My parents moved here to the States from England about six weeks before I was born. My parents and my brother are all green card holders, so I am the only American citizen in my family.

Do you have a story that has stuck out as your favorite or the most challenging to cover?

The one that I’ve done here in Duluth was a 30-minute special called “Missing and Murdered: An Epidemic of Violence.” It was about the high rates of domestic violence, sexual assualt and murder that Indigenous women face and its impact on the Native community and the community at large.

I am not Native, so navigating that culturally was a challenge. My producer, Ramona Marozas, is Native, so she helped guide me.

We started with the jumping off point of Sheila St. Clair’s murder, a prominent missing and murdered case here in the Northland. From there, we talked to law enforcement, families and advocates, and put together a very informative, emotional piece.

Baihly Warfield, WDIO

Baihly Warfield grew up south of the Twin Cities and earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications at the University of St. Thomas. When looking for a reporting job after graduation, her only caveat was that she would not move farther north, applying for jobs all over the country.

Despite it being farther north, Warfield was encouraged to apply at WDIO by a few folks she knew at the station. Warfield fell in love with the area and found the position to be a good fit, so she began her reporting career here in 2015. She has since worked her way up to evening news anchor.

At what point did you realize you wanted to be a television reporter?

There was a career day in high school in ninth grade, and one of the Twin Cities TV stations came to the school to talk about their jobs. I loved writing and I was also involved in the performing arts, so it felt like a good marriage of those two passions of mine.

TV gives you the opportunity to hear directly from people and experience the story for yourself. There are unique ways to tell stories on TV that you can’t get in a newspaper or on the radio.

Who is someone you look up to or inspired you to become a reporter?

Boyd Hupert down at KARE 11 is the ultimate goal for a lot of storytellers with his “Land of 10,000 Stories” segment. I appreciate his conversational style and the meaningful stories he tells. I aspire to be able to tell stories that well one day.

How do you find balance between work and your personal life?

I try to put my phone in my purse when I get home and leave it there. I go into work at 1:30 p.m., so I try to take the mornings to myself — maybe scroll through the email once or twice, but other than that, I sit down and read, run errands, keep up with my personal life. It’s a conscious effort I make to turn it off, but it is important to take a break. I also do a lot of hiking to clear my mind.

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Can you tell us something about yourself that viewers may not know?

I have done a lot of traveling. My study abroad program in college was called “Semester at Sea,” so I lived on a ship for four months. That trip gave me a lifelong travel bug because I realized how much of the world there is to see. I’ve been to 13 or 14 countries now.

Do you have a story that has stuck out as your favorite or the most challenging to cover?

One of my favorites was on a couple who were huge Vikings fans. They had a wooden chainsaw-carved statue of a Viking in their driveway named Vinny the Viking that was stolen one night. The couple got a call immediately after the story aired that someone had seen him. They reported it to the police and were able to get the top half of their statue back. They had a new bottom made for him, so Vinny the Viking is back in full form.

On the more serious side, one of the most memorable days of reporting was when the Husky Refinery exploded. I was live on air for eight straight hours, updating people about what was going on. I’ll never forget that day.

Kristen Vake, CBS 3

Kristen Vake grew up in Chisholm and still lives on the Iron Range. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Superior for mass communications and journalism and went on to work in marketing for the State of Minnesota.

After a couple years, Vake began to miss reporting and decided to pursue a master’s degree at Northwestern University in Chicago. She began at CBS 3 as a morning anchor, reporter and producer about five years ago and is now an evening anchor.

At what point did you realize you wanted to be a television reporter?

When I was in fifth grade, my class made a newspaper, and I got to interview the captain of the boys basketball team. That was a big deal to me, and I took it very seriously. I loved the adrenaline rush that I got while I was doing the interview. It’s funny because now when I’m really excited about an interview, I get that same exact adrenaline rush.

Who is someone you look up to or inspired you to become a reporter?

I’ve tried to emulate Nora O’Donnell. She is not only a female evening news anchor on network television, but is also a really strong reporter.

Before her, I would say Barbara Walters. She broke the glass ceiling for women in this industry. We still have a ways to go as far as a good balance of male to female, but I’ve seen women make some big strides in the last couple years.

How do you find balance between work and your personal life?

On the weekends I try to check out. I like to leave my phone and go adventuring outside. I also am a big fan of reality TV. Everybody needs something to take your mind off the busyness of the day-to-day, especially with the last year we’ve been through.

I also have dogs. All they want from me is some love and some treats, and I can do that.

Can you tell us something about yourself that viewers may not know?

I have had two back surgeries to treat scoliosis. I began having back pain when I was only 13 or 14 years old and was misdiagnosed a couple times before figuring out what it was. I had my first surgery my senior year of high school, which put me out of sports.

I was given a lot of restrictions after my second surgery, but I kind of rebelled and ran Grandma’s Half Marathon the next year. I’ve always pushed the limits with it, but it’s one of those obstacles that really shapes your life.

Do you have a story that has stuck out as your favorite or the most challenging to cover?

I recently told a story about a family from the Iron Range who was in the middle of an adoption process for four children from outside of the country when the pandemic hit. Their entire world was turned upside down, but they allowed us into their home and opened up about their struggles even though it wasn’t easy for them to talk about.

A few months after the story aired, the adoption went through and the kids are now in the country with them. It was a happy ending, but in the moment it was really tough for them. The fact that they were willing to share their experience with so many people, including me, was really special. D