KCAU-TV

KCAU-TV is a television station in Sioux City, Iowa, broadcasting digitally on VHF channel 9 as an affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company.

History
KCAU signed on air as KVTV on March 9, 1953. It is western Iowa's oldest television station. KCAU was primarily affiliated with the CBS network, but it also carried programs from ABC, NBC and DuMont. It lost NBC in 1954 when KTIV signed on. KVTV was sold to Forward Broadcasting in 1965, who, effective November 1 of that year, changed the call letters to KCAU-TV and the primary network affiliation to ABC. The station continued to present some CBS programs until October 1, 1967, when KMEG-TV signed on and took the CBS affiliation.

Citadel Communications (not to be confused with the larger Citadel Broadcasting, the owner of numerous radio stations across the U.S.) bought the station in 1988, also purchasing Albion, Nebraska, station KBGT-TV (channel 8) at about the same time; that station was converted into KCAN, a satellite of KCAU. (Citadel moved KCAN's license to Lincoln, Nebraska and converted the station into KLKN, a standalone ABC affiliate, in 1996.)

From 1953 to 1985 KCAU was home to Canyon Kid's Corner, a popular children's show in the area, and it was hosted by longtime KCAU announcer Jim Henry during the entire run of the program.

In December 2006, KCAU received new graphics and music, but did not drop Eyewitness Newsbranding, like sister stations WOI-TV and WHBF-TV did. Since noon February 17, 2009, KCAU's broadcasts have been digital-only.[1]

The 'KCAU TV Tower is a guyed mast for TV transmission in Sioux City at 42°35′12.2″N96°13′57.1″W. The tower was built in 1965 and is 609.9 meters (2000 feet) high. It is tied for the tallest structure of the state and is one of the tallest structures in America.

KCAU does not carry ABC World News Now, even though it did for awhile in the early 2000s. Instead, the station signs off every night at 1:05 a.m. -- one of the few stations in the United States that still does so.

KCAU began broadcasting local news in high definition on November 23, 2010, the first station in the Sioux City market to do so. (KMEG/KPTH began broadcasting 16x9 widescreen news earlier, but not HD.)

KCAU-DT2
In 2009, KCAU added The Local AccuWeather Channel as a digital subchannel. KCAU is the only station owned by Citadel Communications to carry AccuWeather programming on a digital subchannel; sister stations KLKN, WOI-DT, and WHBF-TV instead carry RTV on their DT2 subchannels. KCAU-DT2 originally identified as "KCAU WeatherNow" but by 2010 was instead branded as "Accuweather 9".

Current
Anchors


 * Larry Wentz - weeknights
 * Jenna Rehnstrom - weeknights
 * Chris Liberto - weekday mornings/Midday
 * Jessica Cihacek - weekends

 Weather


 * Fred Hexom (Chief Meteorologist)
 * Karissa Sanford
 * Chris Mulcahy

Reporters


 * Aaron Adelson
 * Tanya De Jesus
 * Paloma Richards
 * Staci DaSilva

 Sports


 * Tim Seaman (Sports Director)
 * Jon Tritsch

Former

 * Angel Albert
 * Brian Allen, weeknight anchor at KSFY in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
 * Hank Allen, morning meteorologist at WGNO in New Orleans
 * Jeff Anderson
 * Adam Bakali
 * Brandi Becker
 * Harry Cicma, sports director at WRNN-TV and FiOS1 in the New York City area
 * Jake Dunne, morning meteorologist at WLNS in Lansing, Michigan
 * Liz Elan, reporter at KSLA-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana
 * Elizabeth Erwin, reporter at KPHO-TV in Phoenix
 * Jim Henry
 * Christa Henton
 * Brian James
 * Sara Kronenberg, reporter at WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin
 * Nate Larscheid, chief meteorologist at WEAU-TV in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
 * Joy Larson
 * Justin Liles, Chief Meteorologist at WDIO-TV in Duluth, MN
 * Laura Lowe, Political Reporter at CKY-TV in Winnipeg, Canada
 * Greg Lund
 * Nathan Moore
 * Lon Nichols
 * Dave Nixon
 * Tom Petersen (deceased)
 * Leon Pettersen
 * Meredith Putney, weeknight anchor at WRDW-TV in Augusta, Georgia (as Meredith Anderson)
 * Marla Rabe
 * Gene Sherman
 * Abigayle Sloan, Reporter at WXMI in Grand Rapids, Michigan
 * Najahe Sherman, anchor and reporter at KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri
 * Gary Shore (deceased)
 * David Still, Memphis, TN
 * Kalli Sower
 * Kerri Stowell, morning traffic, afternoon reporter, KMBC-TV Kansas City, MO
 * Rebecca Swart
 * Kit Werbe
 * Megan Harshbarger
 * Sara McIntosh
 * Jennifer Steck
 * Lauren Gawthrop
 * Ashley Chase

Newscast titles

 * TV-9 News
 * Major 9 Report (1960s–?)
 * Major 9 News (?–1996)
 * News 9 (1996–2001)
 * Channel 9 Eyewitness News (2001–2013)
 * ABC 9 News (2013–2017)
 * KCAU 9 News (2017–present)

Station slogans

 * Together, We're Making a Difference (1989–1996; used during period station used Frank Gari's "Making a Difference")
 * Siouxland's Most Experienced News Team (1989–1996)
 * If It's Sioux City, It Must Be Channel 9 (1992-1993; localized version of ABC campaign)
 * You'll Say I See (2001–2006)
 * Siouxland's ABC (2006-2011)
 * Siouxland's ABC in High Definition (2011–present)