KMIZ, the ABC-affiliate in Columbia-Jefferson City, has ventured into the 6:30 p.m. timeslot with a new, high-definition newscast.

The program, which launched Monday, is the only 6:30 p.m. newscast in the market. It is co-anchored by Meredith Hoenes (pictured), a former anchor at Columbia NBC-affiliate KOMU, and Ryan Tate.

The conversion to high definition also launched Monday, on KMIZ as well as Fox-affiliate KQFX, which are both owned by JW Broadcasting. The two stations made the HD switch for their syndicated programming this summer, while the upgrades to the studio equipment were ongoing.

“The most important thing we do is the news,” KMIZ general manager Gene Steinberg told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “It seemed a little anticlimactic to run ‘Two and a Half Men’ in high definition when our own newscast wasn’t.”