Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE 11 is taking the unusual move of adding a third news anchor to its 5 p.m. broadcast as it reformats the show.
The Tegna station announced Tuesday that Lauren Leamanczyk will join the 5 p.m. newscast starting July 8, joining news anchors Julie Nelson and Randy Shaver, meteorologist Belinda Jensen, and sports anchor Eric Perkins. Leamanczyk, who currently anchors KARE 11 Sunrise, will also continue to work on the station’s investigative team.
Gia Vang, who’s coming from Fresno, California, will replace on KARE 11 Sunrise.
“We are creating a new ensemble cast to showcase and tell stories differently during KARE 11 News at 5,” Director of Content Stuart Boslow said in a news release. “By adding Lauren to this already well established and award winning anchor team, we will be able to allow all three of our news anchors to get out in the community more and share stories that matter to all Minnesotans.”
In recent years, Tegna has been known for experimenting with new ways of delivering the news. Those efforts have included KARE’s “Breaking the News” broadcast at 6:30 p.m. weeknights, and host Jana Shortal has received national attention for rejecting the stereotypical news anchor dress code.
Though dual anchors have long been the standard for local newscasts, KARE is not the first to deviate from the formula: Canada’s CBC-TV has been using a four-anchor format for “The National” since 2017, though most broadcasts don’t include all four anchors.
Leamanczyk has been with KARE since 2016, according to her bio.