News Team

Matt is a veteran newsmaker who most recently anchored for KSTU-FOX in Salt Lake City. Previously the lead anchor for KTVZ-NBC and KOHD-ABC, Matt is a familiar face in the Central Oregon market.

As a 13-year local of Bend, Samantha has a deep passion for Central Oregon and the stories of this community. She has six years of experience in the industry, all of which were spent in Bend, giving her an edge in Central Oregon reporting. She anchors the 5, 6, 7 and 11 p.m. newscasts and takes pride in making viewers feel engaged, informed and excited about where we live.

Allen comes to CO Daily News with 32 years experience in broadcast news, print journalism and film production.

An anchor and reporter at KING-NBC in Seattle for 21 years, he also served as Pacific NW correspondent for Al Jazeera America.

Heather is a native Oregonian and award-winning journalist who started behind the scenes at KATU-ABC in Portland. She has covered news in Central Oregon since 2006, and most recently, Heather served as news director for KBND News Radio.

Lauren has called Bend home for the past 14 years. After graduating from The University of Arizona she joined the team at KOHD in 2007 to help launch their “Daybreak” morning show. After anchoring and reporting for many years she got involved in nonprofit work with Saving Grace here in Central Oregon. She is excited to get back to her roots and wake up bright and early to bring you the morning news.

My interest in weather started in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. I rode out the storm a mile from the beach with my immediate family and saw the devastation of the worst storm to hit the MS Gulf Coast in 36 years. During the couple of weeks after the storm, I climbed the ten foot piles of debris and tried to salvage what I could. It was then that I recognized my calling and wanted to learn How & Why all of that happened so I could tell everyone When & Where it will happen next.

Emily Kirk is a native Oregonian whose passion for people and community led her to local television news. Her more than six years of storytelling in Central Oregon make her a familiar face on the mountain, at the store, on-air and online. She loves to connect and help keep the High Desert a wonderful place to call “home”.

Brooke is a 35 year multimedia veteran with deep Central Oregon roots. He anchored and reported on KTVZ-NBC in the 1990s and has been on local radio stations. He also wrote the best-selling “Fishing Central Oregon” guide book, now in its sixth printing.

Graduating from the same meteorology school and just six months apart from Chief Meteorologist Dorrell Wenninger, I actually left the TV business to move to Bend and live out my outdoor addictions. But 8 years later my love for meteorology, the great outdoors, and storytelling crossed paths with Central Oregon Daily and a match was made in heaven. I believe that weather should be fun, yet also taken very seriously, so tune in for forecasts for your favorite outdoor adventures and perhaps even take away a smile or two.

Dave has been television news director/anchor, cable manager, award-wining filmmaker and a closet country rocker. A longtime central Oregon resident (and native Oregonian), Dave is deeply involved in the community. He enjoys traveling the state with the Destination Oregon crew, finding the popular and unknown places that make our state such a great place to live.

Steve is a television photojournalist of 17 years and has two Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in journalism. A story teller with a video camera, he has seen almost every form of natural disaster, watched an armed occupation of a bird sanctuary unfold, and covered many government meetings.

Eric grew up in Australia before moving to the U.S. as a teenager. After graduating from Chapman University with a BFA in Film Production, Eric started his career in San Diego working as a sports videographer/editor before shifting his focus into the business world. After spending 5 years working in various management roles in San Diego and Australia, Eric and his wife moved to Bend to be closer to family. Eric joined the Central Oregon Daily team in 2015.

After growing up in Iowa and studying Journalism at Iowa State University, Dalton left the Midwest behind to follow his passions here in the Pacific Northwest. It was his love of interesting people and a unique story that lead him to Central Oregon Daily. When Dalton isn’t in front of the camera, you can find him exploring one of the many trails Bend has to offer.

Meghan comes to us from Charlotte, North Carolina. After four years as a college sports reporter at North Carolina State University, she has found a passion for reporting within the Bend community. Her love for television, people, and adventure is expressed in every story told. When Meghan isn’t in front of the camera, you can find her eating her way through Bend or exploring on her motorcycle.

Hannah’s love of journalism began at a young age while listening to NPR in the car with her parents. (Ira Glass is still her favorite journalist to this day.) She went on to major in communication at the University of Portland, where she served as the school newspaper’s editor in chief. Hannah interned with the Portland Business Journal, The Daily Astorian, and Artslandia Magazine before she joined Central Oregon Daily. When she’s not working, Hannah loves hiking, biking and skiing in her “soulmate town,” Bend.

Matt grew up outside the Seattle area. After his move to Oregon, over two decades ago, he found his love for all types of TV production at Southern Oregon University. Matt has enjoyed the last 18 years honing in on his craft and he still finds new ways to fall in love with production. That passion to tell a great story is the thing that Matt loves to bring to his work. When looking through the viewfinder of a camera to fine-tune the edit, he always strives to show the best of that story.

Cody started his career over a decade ago in photography, which developed into filmmaking. Over the years, his work has taken him abroad, where he honed his desire to tell meaningful stories. He strives to tell those stories best through composition, lighting, movement, but most importantly, great storytelling.

Ted is an award-winning journalist with nearly 20 years of experience in print and television newsrooms in Oregon, Colorado, Arkansas and Nebraska. He’s called Bend home since 2000.

After falling in love with videography in college, Karli made the switch from print journalism to broadcast news. She grew up in the Eugene area and went on to earn her MA in Journalism from the University of Limerick in Ireland. Tired of dark, rainy weather and eager to learn, she moved to Bend to join the team with Central Oregon Daily. She has enjoyed growing her skills in the newsroom and exploring the stunning central Oregon nature.

Steele grew up in Central Oregon, graduating from Madras High School. His love of sports led him to be an assistant coach for the Madras White Buffalo football team before accepting a job as the sports editor at the Madras Pioneer. Steele was a sports editor for two years and has his sights set on becoming a sports anchor. When not working, Steele enjoys exploring all the amazing sights the state of Oregon has to offer.