KARK Juggles Anchors For Evening Newscasts

By Merrill Knox 

KARK, the NBC-affiliate in Little Rock, is making some changes to the evening talent lineup.

Starting Monday, weekend anchor Jessica Dean (pictured) will co-anchor the station’s 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts alongside current anchor Bob Clausen. She will replace Melissa Simas, who will contribute to those two newscasts as a reporter, while also continuing to anchor the 5 p.m. news.

“Melissa is an exceptional anchor/reporter and has made it clear that her passion is reporting stories and digging into important issues that affect Arkansas,” KARK news director Rob Heverling said in a statement. “We are pleased Melissa will have a much greater influence on how we shape our coverage of the news of the day.”

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Dean, Simas and Clausen will be joined by Keith Monahan, who is the station’s new chief meteorologist. KARK reporter Lauren Trager will take over weekend anchoring duties from Dean.

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