News anchor James Wilcox and KAAL TV abruptly part ways

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read
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Sep. 13—ROCHESTER — What happened to James Wilcox, former

KAAL-TV

news anchor and managing editor?

He was at the ABC News anchor desk for the 5 p.m. newscast on Friday. However, Wilcox was not on air for the 10 p.m. show later that night. Unconfirmed reports from insiders stated Wilcox was involved in a loud dispute with co-workers after the 5 p.m. show.

By Monday, all mention of Wilcox had been removed from the KAAL website. No public announcements were made, but KAAL employees were notified about Wilcox's departure. When asked, the station responded with a short statement.

"I can confirm that Mr. Wilcox is no longer employed by the station. Beyond that, it is the policy of KAAL-TV, LLC to not comment on personnel matters," wrote KAAL General Manager Rhonda LaVelle.

LaVelle did not address questions about who might join Robin Wolfram as a replacement co-anchor. Wilcox did not respond to questions submitted via social media about his departure.

He is the third prominent journalist to part ways with KAAL this year.

Long-time news anchor Laura Lee left in April

and Chief Meteorologist

Chris Kuball

left in May.

This abrupt change is unexpected. The station trumpeted

Wilcox's return in May 2022.

Wilcox, who was

a KAAL news anchor from 2009 to 2017,

worked at stations in New York, Nebraska and Minnesota before returning to Rochester.

In April of this year, it was announced Wilcox and Wolfram would be anchoring KAAL's evening shows. Wilcox was also promoted to managing editor.

"I could not be more excited that James Wilcox has decided to stay with ABC 6 News. He is a team player, a strong anchor, and he's passionate about what he does," wrote KAAL News Director Brianna Cook in a statement in April. "He brings more than 20 years of experience with him, and we are lucky to have him."

The station even purchased a billboard near the offices of local competitor KTTC-TV to announced Wilcox's return to the anchor.

In addition to his long history with KAAL, Wilcox is known for having deep local roots. He grew up in Brownsdale and graduated from Hayfield High School. Wilcox's started his broadcasting career as a high school intern with KAAL.