KXAN-TV shuffles anchor lineup
Changes come just days after November ratings period completed.
You’ll soon see a new — but very familiar — face on KXAN’s weekday morning newscast.
Brian Sanders, who has been anchoring the NBC affiliate’s weekend morning newscasts since March, will move to weekdays Dec. 20. He previously served as the station’s weekend sportscaster, a job he’d held since joining KXAN in 2006.
“I get to work with some amazing people at KXAN,” Sanders said in a news release. “And what’s more, we get to build a relationship with our viewers every morning. Our goal is to be the number one source for news, weather and traffic, and hopefully share some light-hearted moments along the way. I’m excited about this next step in my career and grateful to be an active part of a growing Austin community.”
He’ll anchor alongside Sally Hernandez, joining a team that also includes weathercaster Mark Monstrola and traffic reporter Amanda Dugan, both relative newcomers.
Current weekday morning anchor Robert Maxwell, who made his debut in February, arriving from Salt Lake City, has been tapped to serve as anchor of the 9 p.m. newscast on CW affiliate KNVA. He’ll also be featured on KXAN’s 10 p.m. broadcast and become part of the station’s investigative team.
“I am excited to connect with our growing evening news audience,” Maxwell said. “I know there are many stories, both significant and relevant to Central Texans that we’ll be investigating in the coming months. And I’m proud to play a role in that process.”
The changes come just days after November ratings period, when “KXAN News Today” tied for second place at 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. At 5 a.m., however, the newscast ranked third.
Austin-based wind power developer Baryonyx Corp. will receive $4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to design, develop and pursue permits for three new turbines off the Texas coast, the agency announced Wednesday.
The award, part of the Energy Department’s efforts to develop innovative windpower installations, is one of seven design grants awarded to companies around the country. The Baryonyx project “will demonstrate an advanced jacket foundation design and integrate lessons learned from the oil and gas sector on facility design and installation,” the agency’s release said.
Three of the seven projects will earn follow-up awards, each worth about $47 million over four years, to be used for building and putting the designs into commercial operation by 2017, said Jeff Sherwood, an agency spokesman.
The grants could help Baryonyx in its ongoing effort to build a wind farm with up to 300 turbines off the Texas