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Friday 09th of May 2008 
Wausau, WI
Temperature: 47°
Currently: Rain
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WAOW TV :: Wausau, WI
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Friday
Mostly Cloudy
High: 60°
Low: 44°
Mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles, mainly during the morning. Wind: North 5-10
 
 Tonight On WAOW
 Picture Of The Week
A red fox enjoying some April sunshine. Click on the image for a larger view. Picture taken by Tina Lang of Weston. EMAIL YOUR PHOTO to weather@waow.com for consideration for Pic of The Week or for use on our newscasts.
Melissa Langbehn
5pm / 6pm Anchor / Assistant News Director

Melissa anchors Newsline 9's Live at 5pm and co-anchors Newsline 9 at 6pm with Erik Mrotek. She also serves as the Assistant News Director.

For Melissa, Central Wisconsin is truly home. She grew up in the Wausau area and graduated from D.C. Everest High School. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, she began her broadcasting career.

Melissa joined TV-9 in 1991. Melissa's work has been recognized by both the Associated Press and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. Melissa also attended the prestigious Poynter Institute.

In addition to her journalism work Melissa enjoys being a part of the Children's Miracle Network working to help sick and injured children in our area.

Melissa and her husband, Dave have a son, Justin and a couple of collies that keep them very busy. They make their home in the Wausau area.
Erik Mrotek
6pm / 10pm Anchor / Executive Producer

Erik Mrotek is one of Newsline 9's senior employees. He grew up in the Clark County town of Loyal, right here in central Wisconsin.

Erik anchors our 6pm and 10pm newscasts, and serves as the evening Executive Producer. He helps determine what stories appear in what newscast, as well as the order, and also helps younger staff members with their writing and storytelling.

After graduating High School, Erik attended college for 2 years at the U-W Center in Marshfield before transferring to U-W Stevens Point. That's where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications.

This is Erik's first job in television. He began working here at TV-9 right after graduating college, back in 1991. Since then, he's won awards for his stories from the Associated Press and the Wisconsin Broadcaster's Association.
Pam Warnke
10pm Anchor / Videojournalist

It's been a whirlwind of job duties at WAOW-TV for Pam Warnke. In January 2007, Pam moved to the 10pm anchor desk. It was less than a year after she joined the staff of Wake Up Wisconsin, co-anchoring the show and reporting during the morning hours. It was just a year earlier that Pam had taken over the weekend anchor chair for Newsline 9.

Pam started at WAOW behind the scenes. After working in the Promotions department and producing Wake Up Wisconsin, she made the switch to on-camera. Pam graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations. While there, she was awarded the prestigious Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Communications Scholarship. Pam also spent time interning at CBS-5 news in Green Bay.

When she's not working, Pam loves to cook, run, read and watch her hometown team--the Green Bay Packers. Pam and her husband make their home in the Wausau area.
Brian Niznansky
Evening Meteorologist

Brian Niznansky joined Newsline 9 in early 2007 as our evening meteorologist. Brian hails from Racine, and spent a year and a half as a meteorologist in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Brian attended UW-Milwaukee for meteorology. He is excited to handle our evening meteorological duties, and looks forward to a variety of weather in north central Wisconsin.
Bryon Graff
Sports Director

Bryon became the Newsline 9 Sports Director in April of 2002. He joined us from our sister station, WXOW-TV in La Crosse, where he was their weekend sports anchor and reporter. Prior experience includes Sports Director at KFXB-TV in Dubuque, Iowa and Weekend Sports Anchor at KHGI-TV in Kearney, Nebraska.

In addition to his duties as Sports Director for WAOW-TV, Bryon also hosts our weekly Green Bay Packers show, Newsline 9 Pack Attack from Dale's Weston Lanes. Bryon also produces and hosts the WIAA Boys and Girls State Basketball Tournaments.

Bryon graduated from UW-Platteville and grew up in the Milwaukee area.
Chris Stanford
Wake Up Wisconsin Anchor

Chris has lived in Central Wisconsin since 1994. He attended High School at S.P.A.S.H and then earned his bachelor degree in communication from U.W.S.P. At school, he was an active member of the campus television station (STV10) as a news producer, reporter, and anchor. He was also awarded the James Schuh Award for Excellence in Broadcasting in the spring of 2005.

Chris started in December of 2005 at WAOW as the 6pm producer and night side reporter. A couple of months later he became a full time reporter. Now, Chris co-anchors Wake Up Wisconsin and does some news reporting.
Natalie Sparacio
Wake Up Wisconsin Anchor

Natalie Sparacio joined the Newsline 9 team in February, 2007.

She previously worked at KAAL-TV in Austin, MN where she produced the 6 & 10 p.m. newscasts and was later promoted to nightside reporter.

She is happy to be working in the Midwest, and finds people in Wisconsin to be very welcoming.

Natalie was raised in Barrington, IL. She attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI where she graduated with a degree in Journalism. While at MU, Natalie was involved with MUTV, a student run television station. She kept busy as Assistant News Director, Producer, Anchor, and Reporter.

During her summer and winter breaks, Natalie interned at WBBM-TV Chicago in the Medical and Special Project Units. The experience sparked her interest in broadcast television.
Justin Loew
Wake Up Wisconsin Meteorologist

Justin wakes up our viewers with weather forecasts on Wake Up Wisconsin. Justin is well known to TV viewers in north central Wisconsin. He returned to Wausau to work for WAOW-TV and Great Lakes Weather Service.

Justin previously worked at another Wausau station, serving as their morning meteorologist. He left Wausau for the sunny climate of California, but returned in November, 2001 to Wausau.

Meg Bonacorsi
Weekend Anchor / Videojournalist

Meg handles the weekend anchor and producing duties, and reports three days per week.

Meg came to Newsline 9 from KAWE in Bemidji, Minnesota. She worked as their Brainerd bureau reporter, shooting, writing and editing her stories for air.

Meg graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California with a Journalism degree and an emphasis in broadcasting.

In college, Meg anchored and reported for CPTV, the campus TV news program. She also completed an internship at KSBY in San Luis Obispo.

Away from Newsline 9 you might find Meg shopping, reading and spending time outdoors - when the weather is warm!
Megan Syner
Weekend Meteorologist

Megan joined the Newsline 9 team in January 2007 after graduating from Penn State University with a B.S. degree in Meteorology. She is the weekend meteorologist for Newsline 9, but also provides weathercasts for Fox 55 News at 9 twice a week.

While attending Penn State, she gained considerable forecasting experience interning at WTAJ-TV in Altoona, PA. She also worked for the Penn State Weather Communications Group where she took detailed weather observations and assisted in the production of a live, 15-minute weather show called “Weather World”. In addition, she hosted a weekly student weather show called “Weather Or Not” and was the producer of “Weather Whys”, a popular segment on Weather World that features Dr. Jon Nese, who was formally with the Weather Channel.

Megan is from just outside Pittsburgh, PA but is really excited about the extreme weather conditions of the Upper Midwest! She is looking forward to sharing her passion for the weather with the community!
Russ Owens
Weekend Sports Anchor / Videojournalist

Russ grew up in the Bluegrass state in Louisville, Ky, before deciding to attend the University of Missouri where he majored in Broadcast Journalism.
During his time at Mizzou, he was able to work at KOMU, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Missouri where he gained a lot of valuable experience before graduating in 2007.

Russ also interned at WAVE3-TV in Louisville, Kentucky during the summer before his senior year at Missouri. He's grown up an avid sports fan, and when he's not at work you can find him watching just about any sport. But more than anything else, a love for University of Kentucky athletics runs deep.

He's looking forward to spending time in Central Wisconsin and loves the area so far!
Jenna Bennett
FOX 55 News @ 9 Anchor / Producer

Jenna anchors FOX 55 News At Nine, and she’s happy to be back home in the Midwest! She grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where her family lives, and graduated with honors from Central Michigan University, where she majored in broadcasting and journalism.

During college, Jenna interned at the FOX affiliate in Grand Rapids and moved to Atlanta for a summer to intern at CNN. She also studied abroad in Sydney, Australia, where she traveled to the Great Barrier Reef and the Outback and learned how to surf.

Jenna comes to Wausau from Helena, Montana, where she worked as a reporter and anchor for the last year-and-a-half.

When she’s not working, Jenna loves to read, watch movies, ski, go hiking, work-out, and spend time with her kitty, Clark Kent.
Teresa Mackin
Videojournalist

Teresa Mackin reports for Newsline 9 five days a week. She started at Channel 9 in May 2007.

Teresa grew up in Green Bay (Go Pack Go!), so she's very excited to be in Wausau and close to home.

She graduated from UW-Madison with a double-major in both Broadcast Journalism and Spanish. Before coming to Newsline 9, she interned at both FOX-11 in Green Bay, and WAOW's sister station in Madison, WKOW-27.

When she's not at work, you can find Teresa running outside (Wausau is a beautiful city!), reading, or playing with her new kitten.

Cami Mountain
Videojournalist

Cami joined the Newsline 9 team in June, 2007.

She grew up in Barry, Illinois and graduated with a class of only 26 students. So, she loves the small town feel of Wausau.

Cami graduated from Illinois State University. While there she worked at the student run television station, TV 10, where she anchored, reported and produced. She was also honored to receive the 2007 TV 10 Founders Award.

Before coming to Newsline 9, Cami interned with our sister station, WGEM in Quincy, Illinois. Also, during her senior year she interned at WEEK- TV in Peoria, Illinois.

Outside the station you might see Cami shopping or wandering around as she learns her way through Central Wisconsin.
Colby Robertson
Videojournalist

Colby joined the Newsline 9 team in September 2007 as a news reporter. She graduated cum laude from the University of Miami (FL) in May 2007 where she double majored in Broadcast Journalism and Psychology. While there, Colby reported and anchored for UMTV, the campus television station. She also interned at The Golf Channel in Orlando, Florida during the 2006 summer.

Colby is originally from Minnetonka, MN. Although she’ll miss the Miami sun, she is very excited to be back in the Midwest close to home. Colby is a big sports fan and loves watching ‘Canes football, the Vikings, Twins and Timberwolves. She also enjoys playing golf, traveling and spending her free time with friends and family.
Jessica Sirls
Videojournalist

Jessica left her home state of California to study on the East Coast and abroad in England before graduating from Boston University with a B.S. in broadcast journalism.

She had interned at NECN in Boston, with Thompson TV in London, and at Good Morning America, before joining the Newsline 9 team in January of 2008.

Jessica has strong family roots as well as ties with friends in the Midwest and is excited about the opportunity to be working in Wisconsin.
Chris Eckert
Northwoods 34 Videojournalist

Chris is excited to be the Northwoods 34 reporter in Eagle River!

Chris graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication spring of 2007. Before coming up to the Northwoods, Chris was both an intern and Assignment Desk Editor at WITI in Milwaukee. This is Chris' first reporter job.

When he's not out on the field, Chris enjoys playing disc golf and being outside. If you ever see his desk, you will know his favorite show is Futurama. His other interests include video games and sports and can be found cheering for his four favorite teams: the Brewers, Packers, Bucks, and UWM Panthers!
Jana Jurkovich
Sports Videojournalist

Jana Jurkovich is the FOX 55/ Newsline 9 sports reporter.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point in may 2006 with a bachelor of arts in Communication and then joined Newsline Nine in October of the same year.
While in school, Jana interned here at WAOW, worked with the student television station and the student newspaper. She also played on the UWSP Women's Hockey team that captured 2 national tournament berths, including National Runner-up in 2004.

Jana comes to us from Minnesota, where her family still resides, but does enjoy the Wisconsin sports world. Her favorite so far: Covering the Badger hockey team on their 2006 National Championship Run.


Tony Schumacher
Meteorologist

Tony Schumacher has retired from "full-time" meteorology duties at Newsline 9. However, he still remains a part-time employee, and will continue to appear on Newsline 9 newscasts from time to time.

Tony chose to end his full-time service to WAOW-TV in May 2007, when he decided to operate his forecasting company, Great Lakes Weather Service, out of his home near Dorchester.

"Our company provides forecasts and weather consulting for clients such as radio stations, construction, utility and ag companies, ski hills and school districts."

Tony is married to Kathy, with son, Douglas and daughter, Elaine.
 
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