HANNIBAL -- It's the end of an era for KHQA TV, but the beginning of something great for the city of Hannibal.
KHQA's president and CEO handed over the keys to our studio on Palmyra Road Wednesday morning to the city of Hannibal and the Fire Department.
The studio opened in 1953, and was used all the way through 2007.
A few months ago, KHQA management sat down with the city to see what could be done with the building.
After a few talks, KHQA decided to donate the building to the city to breath new life into it.
"Over the years, the building became more than what we needed. It's such a good building with great architecture, there seemed to be a better use for it," says Carol Kellum, President and CEO of KHQA and KTVO Television.
"We're going to use the building as our administration offices. We will also keep our hazmat traler and other disaster relief equipment here," says Fire Chief Tim Carter.
The Fire Department has already started the renovation process.
In fact, many of the firefighters and city employees are doing a lot of the work.
Chief Carter hopes to sit in his new office sometime this summer.
We'll keep you updated on the renovation process, and show you the work as it goes on.
Before we handed over the building, we wanted to check in with a few people who called our Hannibal studio home for several years.
KHQA's Chad Douglas caught up with Sarah Deien, who was the bureau chief there for six years, and Wanda Mitchell who was the first smiling face you saw when you walked in the building for more than 50 years.
Take a look at this old camera. It's one of the cameras from our Hannibal Bureau. We keep it in Quincy as a reminder of the past. Take one look through here and you'll see how important the Hannibal studio has been to KHQA.
"To do news out of Hannibal and Northeast Missouri, you really got to know the people you were covering," says Sarah Deien.
"It was like getting paid for something I loved doing. I loved getting up every morning. I knew I'd meet new people that day," says Mitchell.
Wanda Mitchell has a unique story. She was a secretary at the studio for years. Then one day, there was an ice storm. The anchor of a show called her and said she had to fill in for a talk show because he couldn't get out of his drive way. She'd never been on TV before, but she did what the boss told her. She apparently did a good enough job, the boss just gave her that time slot, and Wanda anchored our 7 Spotlight program for decades. With that, she has this advice.
"If you get a chance to do something you don't think you can do, try it," says Mitchell.
Both Wanda and Sarah are happy the building is going back the people of Hannibal.
"I worked with so many city employees and got to know them. This way I feel like I got to keep it a little bit," says Mitchell.
As for Sarah Deien, she is actually keeping a little bit of the Hannibal studio.
"I bought myself a small piece of history of the studio. The big executive desk. I'm having that restored and that will be a piece of the Hannibal studio for me," says Deien.
From now on, this will be a bay that will hold firefighting equipment. For KHQA, this was our studio. In the early days, the evening and late news were broadcast from here. It then became a fully functioning news bureau, and the show 7 Spotlight was taped here for years. And my broadcasting career got started right here. I remember in kindergarten, I was asked to be on a show where kids were read to. It was then broadcast on TV. Little did I know then, this would be my home later in life.
I also served as the Hannibal Bureau Chief for a couple of years. This building served us well, and we're all happy it'll now serve the entire community of Hannibal. Reporting for the last time from the Hannibal newsroom, I'm Chad Douglas.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA