Longtime reporter and anchor Sonya Heitshusen is departing WHO-TV, the station announced Friday.
Speaking after a video retrospective of her career, Heitshusen did not address a reason for her departure. She thanked her colleagues and viewers, saying, "Letting me come into your homes every day has been just such a joy, and allowing me to tell your stories has been an honor and a privilege, especially people who were just so courageous to give a voice to the voiceless, to speak up about injustices whether they be in society, in the workplace or in government. I hope I can mirror that courage as I move on through my life."
Heitshusen could not be reached for comment. WHO News Director Rod Peterson, reached by phone, said he could not comment.
The first word of Heitshusen's departure came from fellow anchor Dan Winters at the end of his 4 p.m. broadcast.
"For 17 years, Sonya has dedicated herself to serving you and being a friend to us," he said. "Sonya doesn’t just tell the news. She digs, she finds, she exposes. She tells the story of life in central Iowa. She does it because she cares."
He described her as a giver, fundraiser and athlete, "and in so many ways, more than I can count, Sonya inspires, and encourages people who need a boost. People who are hurting. People like me."
His voice quivering slightly, Winters said, "Sonya has poured her love into my family during a really difficult time. And it has meant the world to us.
"Over the years I took for granted from time to time that every day I got to sit next to a person I admire this much," said Winters, standing alone on the set. "But then COVID-19 happened and I couldn’t sit next to her anymore. And now I will never have the privilege of doing that again."
He invited viewers to post messages of appreciation for Heitshusen on his Facebook page, and by early evening, dozens had wished her well in the next step of her career.
In 2017, she appeared on the Des Moines Register's Storytellers Project stage, telling the tale of how her best friend and fellow WHO anchor Erin Kiernan helped lift her up during a rough time in her life.
Raised in eastern Iowa near Amana Colonies, Heitshusen attended Colorado State University, the University of London in the United Kingdom and Iowa State University, earning a degree in journalism in 1992. She was a reporter for WOI-TV from 1991 to 2001, then took a job outside journalism before joining WHO.
Her biography on the WHO website says she has won multiple regional Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards for her work, as well as other recognition. It says she has participated in the Variety Club, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, the Ankeny YMCA board of directors, the American Diabetes Association, the Governor’s Conference on Aging and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
In a "fascinating facts" section, she lists among her accomplishments interviewing Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson aboard their tour bus; completing multiple marathons and triathlons, including three full Ironman races; and covering Hurricane Katrina.
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Prominent reporter and anchor Sonya Heitshusen leaves WHO-TV - Des Moines Register
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