WICHITA — KSN, Channel 3, hasn’t officially announced plans for a new 10 p.m. newscast, but sportscaster Jim Kobbe isn’t waiting around to hear them.
He’s turned in his resignation for a new job in human resources at Spirit AeroSystems, where he worked between KSN and a previous job with KWCH, Channel 12.
“I’m really delighted,” Kobbe says.
His last day at KSN is March 20.
Last month, Have You Heard? reported that Kobbe, anchors Stephanie Bergmann and John Snyder and chief meteorologist Dave Freeman were told their services will no longer be needed at 10 p.m.
Freeman has just won a public service award from the National Weather Service.
His award is the civilian equivalent to the federal award the National Weather Service’s Dick Elder and Chance Hayes recently received.
The three worked to get the national criteria for the definition of a severe thunderstorm raised from hail three-quarters of an inch in diameter to one inch – or about the size of a quarter.
The problem, Freeman says, is sometimes “waking people up at 2 o’clock in the morning to tell them to go back to bed.”
“Most people think weather guys love warnings,” he says. “Ironically, it was a bunch of weather guys trying to find a way to issue fewer warnings.”
Freeman says he was happy when his colleagues won their award and had no expectations for one for himself.
“I was literally speechless, which anybody who knows me will tell you is remarkable.”
WICHITA — Call him the Jared of Wichita.