Former KAAL anchor James Wilcox to teach at Hayfield High School

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Oct. 18—ROCHESTER — James Wilcox is back in the classrooms of Hayfield High School a month after the

unexpected end of his time as KAAL-TV's news anchor.

Wilcox, who grew up in Brownsdale and graduated from Hayfield High School, is taking a long-term temporary position as a substitute to fill in for an English teacher who is out on maternity leave.

"It's just something that I never expected. When the PB article about me came out, it got a lot of attention. I had a number of people reach out to me, from recruiters at TV stations and people in other industries about possible jobs.

I was blown away by how supportive people were,"

he said. "I'm really grateful that the principal reached out about this because it works out well with timing."

Wilcox is teaching American literature, world literature, research writing and communications classes, where he can share his 20 years of experience in journalism.

This new role means he is working alongside teachers that taught him in high school as well as walking the same halls that he did as a student.

"It's really kind of bizarre, but it's nice," said Wilcox. "This will buy me some time to figure out what I want to do next."

This situation started in early September, when Wilcox and KAAL-TV abruptly parted ways. Citing legal contract limitations, neither Wilcox nor the station have publicly stated exactly what happened.

Wilcox, who was a KAAL news anchor from 2009 to 2017, returned to the station in May 2022 after spending time working in New York and Nebraska. Earlier this year, it was announced Wilcox and former KTTC-TV anchor

Robin Wolfram

would be anchoring KAAL's evening shows. Wilcox was also promoted to managing editor.

Whatever the details about his September departure, Wilcox describes the situation with KAAL as not fully resolved yet.

So given the way this time with KAAL ended, does he foresee returning to a news anchor desk in the future?

"I'm keeping my options open. Journalism and working in news is part of who I am," he said.

Wilcox is just one of the on-air changes involving Rochester's television news teams.

KAAL's long-time news anchor

Laura Lee left in April

followed by Chief Meteorologist Chris Kuball in May.

Meteorologist Jim Peterson

transitioned from an on-air role to a behind-the-scenes position with the station's sales and marketing team in September. Sports anchor Richard Denson also recently announced that he is leaving KAAL.

Over at KIMT-TV, long-time anchor Tyler Utzka also recently ended his seven-year run at that station's news desk.