Erin Kiernan
13 fascinating facts about Erin Kiernan:
- I am an only child.
- I could save your life I know CPR.
- I have extraordinarily long toes. I can pick things up with them.
- My husband proposed to me on St. Patrick's Day, with cheesecake. I got married in the Madison County Church visited by Pope John Paul in 1979. My husband grew up there and was blessed by John Paul during the visit.
- I was storm chasing a decade ago and an anchor sent me straight into a developing tornado.
- I love 80's music.
- I played the piano and the clarinet as a kid and can't play either now.
- I have a Voodoo kit on my desk (a gift from Sonya Heitshusen).
- I have a tattoo and a piercing and wish I'd never gotten either. (Why is your mother always right about these things?)
- I had a retainer for a couple of weeks in grade school before "accidentally" throwing it away during hot lunch. Consequently, I still have an overbite.
- In the middle of an interview, Steve Miller serenaded Erin with " . Really like your peaches, wanna shake your treeeeeee."
- My dad still sometimes calls me "The Dawes County Styler" because I won first place in a Dawes County, Nebraska 4-H modeling contest.
- My birth was delayed because my mother went into labor during a Nebraska football game.
Erin Kiernan rejoined the Channel 13 News Team in June 2005 to play a major role in the station's ongoing success. In June 2006, Erin joined John Bachman on the anchor desk for Channel 13 News at 5, 6, & 10.
In addition to anchoring, Erin writes and produces many of the station's investigative reports and plays an active role in the daily news process.
In 2008, Erin earned the Media Award from Iowa Commission of Persons with Disabilities for 2 special reports she produced on Iowans with disabilities. In 2006, she earned a regional Edward R. Murrow award from the RTNDA for her investigation in Iowa's Department of Human Services.
Erin previously anchored the weekend news at KCCI, where she started in 1998. In addition to anchoring, she became known for her award-winning investigative work and special series pieces. In Spring 2004, she received a regional Edward R. Murrow award for her two-part series on date-rape drugs. In 2000, she also received a regional Murrow Award for her investigative series "True Colors," which focused on racism at bars in the Des Moines metro area. She has also done investigative series reports on identity theft, sex offenders, arson, ecstasy, meth and unlicensed drivers.
Erin graduated from Drake University with a degree in broadcast journalism. While attending school, she worked as a part-time reporter at Channel 13 News. Next, she worked for WOI-TV as a reporter and photographer.
Born and raised in Chadron, Nebraska, she says her career in broadcasting really started when she imitated television news reporters while dressing up in her mother's clothes as a child.
Erin is very involved in our community including the Student Television Network at Perry High School and the following non-profit organizations:
- The Chrysalis Foundation
- The annual Walk for Autism Research
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness
Check out "Erin Off Camera" in her blog.
