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Tess Koppelman is a general assignment reporter for FOX 4. Her first TV job was a high school internship in her hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin, at WXOW in 1994. She also worked behind the scenes at KMSP and KSTP in Minneapolis. She took her first on-air reporting job at KOLN in Lincoln, NE.
Tess thinks of herself as a storyteller. Journalism is telling true stories about the good and bad things that happen in people's lives. She's been telling stories for a long time, writing her first novel in elementary school and in high school she wrote a play performed at the community theatre.
Before she chose broadcast news, she was a competitive Scottish Highland dancer. She must have enjoyed being on stage because she also acted in many plays in community theatre, as well as high school and college plays. She's still involved in theatrics today-she sled down a hill for a winter live shot and almost ran right into the camera guy.
Tess volunteers at various United Way organizations including the Ronald McDonald House, Harvesters, and the Alphapointe Association for the Blind. Tess is also a "Big Sister" through the Greater Kansas City Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and she enjoys spending time with her "little" Dominique.
Tess graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She worked on the college newspaper "The Aquin" and was news director for the college television program "Campus Scope." Since then she has been recognized for her work in journalism, including awards from Heart of America, National Press Photographers Association, Missouri Broadcasters Association, and she was nominated for a regional Emmy award.
In October 2010, Tess married a Kansas City native, so it looks like she'll be calling Kansas City "home" for many more years to come!
