Minneapolis stations have been reporting this weekend on Jerry and Barbara Heil, the Minnesota couple that remain missing after Friday night’s Costa Concordia cruise disaster.

The Heils are a retired couple from White Bear Lake, MN, with four children and 15 grandchildren. Friends and family of the couple have been sharing thoughts with the area’s local stations as the search for the pair continues in Italy. Read more

Anchor Randy Meier has joined Minneapolis-St. Paul Fox-affiliate KMSP, returning to the market where he launched his career with KSTP. In a recent video interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Meier recounted being let go by the ABC-affiliate in 2003.

“[There were] a couple of months there where you feel like you’ve been kicked in the stomach,” Meier said about not having his contract renewed after 13 years with the KSTP (video above).

Meier is set to make his on-air debut with KMSP this week.

Randy Meier is headed back to Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Meier, who spent a majority of his career as an anchor at Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP, will join the Fox owned-and-operated KMSP on September 26. His primary role will be anchor of the 10 p.m. newscast, which he will do solo, and he will also contribute to the 5 p.m. broadcast as an anchor and reporter.

Meier left KSTP in 2003 when the station declined to renew his contract after 13 years. “In a perfect world, I’d love to find another great television job in the Twin Cities,” he told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune at the time. “This is where our home is; this is where my kids were raised and where they go to school.” Read more

Ready for your close-up? KMSP is looking for a talented evening newscast anchor to join its Eden Prairie, Minn. team.

Here, you’ll report on the latest headlines for the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, while working to create conversations amongst viewers. The station is looking for hard-working candidates, who can participate or moderate guest interviews and/or debates.

If you’re a traditional reader, you might want to look elsewhere. KMSP is seeking an expert communicator and active leader in the newsroom. If you think you’re the one, make sure you can demonstrate your engaging reporting style and ability to present stories in a clear and dynamic way. Interested? Apply here.

Attend mediabistro.com’s Career Circus on August 4 in New York City to find out where the jobs are, develop a career plan and engage with media peers and leaders.

The FCC has levied fines against two stations for not properly disclosing the corporate involvement of news segments that aired in 2006.

Last week the FCC issued $4,000 fines against KMSP, a Fox O&O in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and WMGM, an NBC-affiliate in South Jersey, for “apparent willful violation of section 317 of the Communications Act,” which requires stations to air a sponsorship identification announcement when broadcasting a segment that has been aided or funded by a sponsor.

The offending segments used footage taken from video news releases (VNRs) and didn’t disclose this fact or offer footage of competing brands.

In the case of WMGM, the station aired footage taken from a Zicam VNR during a health segment about using zinc-based medicine (such as Zicam) to fight the common cold. The segment included shots of Zicam as well as a doctor’s recommendation to use it, while not offering coverage of competing brands. Read more