Louisville’s WDRB announced the hiring of  Sterling Riggs as the new morning show anchor today. Riggs replaces Barry Bernson, who announced his retirement earlier this month after more than 40 years in local news.

Riggs, who will leave his position as an anchor and senior producer at KTEN in Denison, TX, will be paired with current morning co-anchor Candyce Clifft. “The demands of the morning co-anchor position are many and unqiue, and it takes a special kind of person to handle them,” WDRB vice president Barry Fulmer said. “He’s knowledgeable, he’s personable and he’s really excited about the chance to explore an entirely new part of the country.”

Although Bernson is slated to retire in October, Riggs’s first day at the Fox affiliate will be August 19. Riggs, who has also worked at KXAN in Austin and KLST in San Angelo, took a four-year break from the news business in 2005 to be chief operating officer of a local development community in Destin, FL. He returned to television at KTEN, an NBC affiliate, in 2009.