KBJR-KRII sports director Tom Hansen has announced his resignation after 22 years at the Duluth stations.

“I love this job. Always have, always will. But I love my family more,” Hansen said in announcing his resignation (video above). “I want to be a better husband and father.”

“Tom has truly been Mr. Sports for the past 20 years in this market,” KBJR-KRII vice president David Jensch told the Duluth News Tribune. “He’s been a great local connection to college and high school teams and players and coaches. A lot of young people have grown up watching Tom Hansen cover them. I can’t tell you how many athletes have talked to us about the connection to Tom Hansen that they have.”

Hansen is joining the university relations department at University of Wisconsin-Superior. His last day will be March 22.

As KQDS went into damage control mode following a controversial Facebook post from its news director, Jason Vincent, rival stations WDIO and KBJR sent camera crews to the Duluth Fox-affiliate to capture footage of a handful of protesters who had gathered outside of the station.

In a recent post on his personal Facebook page, Vincent wrote, “Add drunk, homeless, Native American man to the list of animals that have wandered into my yard.”

The remark drew the ire of local civil rights leaders and several people assembled outside of KQDS on Friday, calling for Vincent’s resignation. Read more

Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson is joining WAVY, the NBC-affiliate in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, on January 18.

Edmondson joins WAVY from KBJR, the NBC-affiliate in Duluth, where he has worked for two years. He told the Duluth News Tribune the move was “a great opportunity to continue furthering my career.”

“I’ve learned that forecasting for this area is brutal, and I’ve learned how to conquer that a little bit better,” he said. “Hopefully I can apply it to the Atlantic Ocean.”

Edmondson replaces Sagay Galindo, who signed off last month to follow her husband, who is in the Navy, to the West Coast.