KMSP anchor Heidi Collins is no longer with the Minneapolis FOX owned station.

“It has been gratifying to contribute to the success of Fox 9 during these past 3 years,” Collins said in a statement. “However, I have decided to explore new opportunities. It has been entirely my honor to serve the great people and communities in and around Mpls./St. Paul.  Without a doubt, it is my much-appreciated viewers I will miss the most.”

Carol Rueppel, KMSP vice president and general manager said, “We want to thank Heidi for her contributions to the FOX 9 news team and we wish her much success in the future.”

Collins, whose last day on-air was July 29, previously worked at CNN. She started at KMSP in 2010.

Don Shelby, former anchor for Minneapolis CBS owned station WCCO, told his former station he will not run for Congress.

“When you see statements by John Boehner that says our job is not to pass laws but to repeal them,” Shelby said. “It makes you wonder who in his or her right mind would really want to get into that business, especially if they come from a background of trying to change things … trying to be helpful, trying to be a true public servant,”

Shelby said he was not comfortable being labeled either a Democrat or Republican. He said he’s neither. He also said he didn’t want to give up time with his family.

According to WCCO, National Democrats had approached Shelby in hopes he would seek the 3rd Congressional District seat currently occupied by Republican Congressman Erik Paulsen. Watch the interview with WCCO after the jump. Read more

When a hailstorm pummeled parts of Minneapolis Tuesday night, it left a lot of broken windshields in its wake. During his weather report, KMSP chief meteorologist Ian Leonard discovered his car was now part of the story he was reporting.

“Every car? Including mine?” Leonard asked someone off camera as he was telling viewers about the cars in the station parking lot getting hit by the golf ball sized hail. After a beat of silence he continued. “Alright. Every car in the FOX 9 parking lot, including mine, is now without a windshield. ”

Maury Glover, a reporter for the FOX owned station, didn’t escape the storm’s wrath either. His car was also damaged. Glover did a live report from the station parking lot and ran some footage showing the storm in action. You can watch that video after the jump.

“Usually we have to drive pretty far to find storm damage like this,” said Glover. “But unfortunately this time some of the worst of it happened in our own back yard.” Read more

Don Shelby, a former anchor at Minneapolis CBS O&O WCCO, is considering a Congressional run against incumbent Rep. Erik Wilson (R) in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional district, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Democrats have been tight-lipped about Shelby’s possible entry into the race, but they made clear Thursday that they would welcome a respected Twin Cities figure with almost universal name recognition across the state.

“I don’t know if he’s in or not,” said DFL Chairman Ken Martin. “If he is considering his options, I don’t think there’s any question that he’d be a very strong candidate against Congressman Paulsen. The fact is, if he gets in the race, it [the district] would become an immediate target for Democrats, not only in this state, but around the country.”

Shelby, 66, did not respond to an emailed interview request. But several DFL sources said he has been courted as a potentially game-changing candidate who does well in internal polls of potential candidates.

WFTC, Fox’s MyNetworkTV affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul, is launching a locally produced entertainment and pop culture show next month. “On The Fly” will air weeknights at 11 p.m. and will re-air at 8 a.m. the following morning.

The show will be hosted by former Minneapolis radio personality Tony Fly (pictured), former radio producer Dan Edwards and KMSP-WFTC traffic reporter Kelsey Soby. The first show is slated for July 22.

“‘On The Fly’ showcases the humor and spontaneity of a radio talk show with the visual impact of television. The ensemble of Tony, Kelsey, and Dan will provide unique commentary on the big talkers of the day,” KMSP-WFTC vice president and general manager Carol Rueppel said in a statement.

KSTP anchor Bill Lunn had a Freudian slip while reciting the intro to the Pledge of Allegiance. To make matters worse, his next read was about Gay Pride celebrations.

“I pledge allegiance to the fag…flag,” said the anchor for the Minneapolis ABC affiliate. “That meant the start of the school day for most of us growing up…”

Lunn later tweeted about the misstep, “I celebrate the diversity of our great state and am horrified that I may have offended people. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”

[Hypervocal]

Tom Durian is joining Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP. News director Lindsay Radford told TVSpy Durian’s first day will be July 8.

Durian also posted the news on his facebook page, “If you notice something different, don’t adjust your sets. I’m no longer anchoring the morning show at CBS 58,” wrote Durian. “I made the decision to take the next move in my career and head to Minneapolis, MN to work as an anchor and reporter there. For those who have been following me since Spokane, here goes the new adventure!!!”

Durian worked at Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT as a morning anchor. He previously worked at KHQ in Spokane, WA, and KMIR in Palm Springs, CA.

[Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

Bill Dallman has been named vice president and news director at Fox Sports 1, the sports network slated to launch in August. It is a move within Fox for Dallman, who has been vice president and news director at Minneapolis Fox O&O KMSP since 2006.

“Bill is a tremendous addition to the news group and we are very excited to have someone with his expertise involved with FOX Sports 1,” senior vice president of news Rick Jaffe said in a statement.  “Bill is not only a great news man, but a creative thinker who will bring a different perspective to traditional sports coverage.”

Dallman begins at Fox Sports 1 in July. In his new role, he will work with affiliates and Fox regional sports networks to manage newsgathering, as well as overseeing “Fox Sports Live,” the news, opinion and highlight show that will air weeknights at 11pmET.

“I’m thrilled to be joining FOX Sports 1 team and I’m ready to bring viewers a unique, dynamic and fun sports highlights and opinion show in FOX SPORTS LIVE,” Dallman said. “My extensive background in news, matched with my knowledge and love of sports, is the perfect fit for a 24/7 sports/news operation.”

KMSP managing news editor Marian Davey will serve as the station’s acting news director until Dallman’s replacement is named.

A reporter and a photojournalist for Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE deliberately crashed a trailer for a report on towing safety this week.

The report, which aired Wednesday, featured an interview with a woman whose husband and three-year-old daughter died after a trailer came unhitched from an oncoming pickup truck while they were driving. Reporter Boyd Huppert and photojournalist Jonathan Malat staged the crash to demonstrate the consequences of not “properly pack, haul and tow items like canoes, kayaks and mattresses.”

Poynter’s Al Tompkins takes a behind-the-scenes look at the process of putting the report together:

“The people in HR were rightfully concerned about how we were going to do this,” Huppert said. “We had a couple of first responders, officers from the highway patrol and Minnesota Department of Transportation folks there helping up.” He continued: “At one point our news director told me if I didn’t feel safe driving the vehicle that was towing the trailer that she would drive it. No way was I going to let that happen.”

The MNDOT workers rigged a closed test track road with a couple of bumps intended to jar the improperly attached trailer loose when it hit. Malat attached GoPro miniature cameras to the tongue of the trailer, to the top of the trailer, down low on the back of the truck, inside the truck, and high on the truck. “I did tell my chief photographer that we might tear up some gear on this one,” Malat said. “Dumb luck we didn’t.”

Watch the report after the jump. Read more

WCCO is re-tooling its morning anchor lineup right after May sweeps. The CBS owned Minneapolis station is moving current anchors Mike Binkley and Angela Davis to Sunday evenings and replacing them with Jason DeRusha (pictured right) and Jamie Yuccas (pictured left) beginning June 2.

“The expectations are very high at WCCO and we feel like we can do better in our morning show,” WCCO news director Mike Caputa told the Pioneer Press. “This isn’t about any performance issues with Mike or with Angela, they’ll still be in high-profile positions at the station, but we’re making this decision so that we hopefully can continue to grow and that we’ll be in a good position in the future. We’re hopeful that everybody will be at the television station for a long time.” Read more