"No matter where you decide to go next in your career... you will never experience anything like you have in the Northland. Trust me." - Chris Long, 5 Eyewitness News
My first visit to Duluth as an adult was my official interview at CBS 3/KBJR 6 in April of 2018. I flew out from the Tri-Cities, WA for less than 24 hours. I met with the news director and future colleagues.
After touring the station and doing a few short meet-and-greets, I went into news director, Kevin Jacobsen's office, sat down, and was handed a contract.
Turns out that that contract was a foreshadowing of every dream I ever had about to be fulfilled over the next three years.
Fast forward three years and six months later, I signed a similar document at that same station. But this time, it was a declaration that I would no longer be an employee of that station.
My abrupt departure from Duluth left a lot of loose ends in that gorgeous city. Forgive me, friends, as in May of 2022, I would finally like to tie up those loose ends and say "thank you" to the people that made my time in the 2-1-8 the most magical time of my early-20s
First and foremost, my friends and colleagues at my former station. My goodness, were you a joy to come into work with every single day. Local news is somewhat of a "revolving door," if you will. You are here today and gone tomorrow, on to the next market. So I'd like to extend my sincerest gratitude to those that put up with me the longest.
Notably, my close friend and colleague, Kristen Vake. Kristen and I experienced a unique amount of challenges and experiences as a female-dominated duo in the market. My gracious am I forever grateful for your love, guidance, friendship and mentorship.
To the teams and athletes, I got to cover, thank you for being amazing and dedicated and so dang fun to cover.
UMD hockey, if only you got to see the number of phone calls made to my parents that all started with "Mom. You will never guess what I got to cover." From national championship(s) to professional contracts, ya'll are an elite entity in itself.
To the women's sports in Duluth. I left just as it was getting even more fun. You all demand to get the attention you deserve by just going out there and putting everything you have on the court/ice/pitch/field/etc every single day. You inspire me to be better than I was the day before and are truly paving a way for the next generation of female athletes. If you ever need a hype-woman, a PR hand, or just someone in your corner, you've got my email (it's kelly.hinseth@gmail.com).
To my sports competition and colleagues, thank you for putting up with me. I'm loud, and obnoxious at times and sometimes you want to hit me. I get that and probably deserved it from time to time. Sincerely, you all made me better because you were way better than me. Nothing will keep you on your toes more than seeing that your competition got the interview first on Twitter as you are still lying in bed. The hustle in local sports is like nothing I will ever experience in any other field.
To my colleagues, I love you. You became more than just the people I worked with at games or in the newsroom, you became my lifelong friends and mentors.
Finally, to the friends I made outside of the walls of the newsroom and hockey arenas: you all kept my head above water. I lost count of the number of "can I come over? I need a hug" texts I sent to my friends up on the hill. Between shows, you fed me dinner and made me laugh just enough to get to the next show, especially when things got really really hard. You saw the hurt and trauma that the viewers never got to see. And you stuck by me through it every step of the way.
This 500-word essay will never fully encapsulate the gratitude I owe for the last four years. I am sorry it has taken me six months to say and I am sure I missed something along the way. You have my permission to call it out.
There are also a million stories of joy, accomplishment, heartbreak, and conquering that just don't fit into a Wix blog post. I hope to someday have the opportunity to share those stories in some way.
Yes, this is my pitch for a book contract.
Also, please don't forget the real treasure of my Duluth-stint. Bloopers: