Minneapolis-St. Paul NBC affiliate KARE is adding a half-hour to its 6 p.m. newscast.
Starting Monday, Oct. 19, the new show will be anchored by Rena Sarigianopoulos and Jana Shortal.
“It’s going to be great. I’m very, very excited,” Sarigianopoulos told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Julie [Nelson] and Randy [Shaver] will do from 6 to 6:30, and Jana and I will do from 6:30 to 7 p.m.”
This means that KARE 11 is going after some of those hungry newshounds now enjoying the extended 6 p.m. news on KSTP-TV, the only local station providing news from 6:30 to 7 p.m. (That KSTP news is so annoyingly alluring I sometimes forget to switch over to “ET”on KARE. How long before WCCO-TV joins the 6:30 p.m. spot, and moves “Wheel of Fortune” into outer space?) Sarigianopoulos said the new show will “be slightly different but still news. We’re not going be doing ‘Entertainment Tonight’ or anything.”