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Laura Monteverdi to Join Bob Clausen as KARK Anchor

2 min read

Laura Monteverdi, the veteran Little Rock TV journalist whose quiet departure from KTHV raised some eyebrows in July, is joining KARK in Little Rock as co-anchor on Channel 4’s evening newscasts with Bob Clausen.

Filling the anchor chair of Ashley Ketz, who departed Arkansas last month with husband and fellow anchor Aaron Nolan for jobs at WGN America in Chicago, Monteverdi will appear with Clausen on the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. broadcasts.

Monteverdi made the announcement Tuesday morning on Little Rock radio station KABZ, The Buzz, with David Bazzell and Roger Scott. In a statement, Monteverdi said she was thrilled to join the KARK team.

“Not only will I get to work alongside a talented team of journalists, but I get to continue to call Arkansas my home, and for that, I’m grateful,” Monteverdi said in a news release.

The Long Island native worked for Channel 11 for five years, earning Edward R. Murrow and regional Emmy awards. She became active in the cause against opioid addiction after losing a loved one, and praised KARK for recognizing “the importance of raising awareness about a cause so close to my heart.”

Monteverdi will start at the NBC affiliate on Sept. 8, making her debut on the 5 p.m. newscast.

News Director Ernie Paulson called himself a longtime fan of Monteverdi’s, praising her “solid journalistic background and strong presence in our community.”

A graduate of the University of South Florida, where she was Delta Gamma sorority president, Monteverdi started her TV career as a general assignment reporter at KDLT in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and joined KTHV, known as THV11, in March 2015. She was a multimedia journalist, anchor and co-host of Channel 11’s morning broadcast over her five and a half years with the company. When asked about Monteverdi’s departure in July, KTHV President and General Manager Marty Schack told Arkansas Business by email that he does not comment on personnel matters.

Nolan and Ketz are new team members in a new national news project by WGN America, “News Nation,” that has pledged to keep its reports opinion-free. WGN in Chicago, like KARK, is in the Nexstar chain of stations. Nolan, a Maumelle native, is morning anchor; Ketz, from Batesville, is a national reporter and fill-in anchor.

(Arkansas Business and KTHV have a news-sharing agreement.)

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