Josh Hinkle is the KCRG-TV9 Weekend Morning News Anchor. You can also see him during the week, reporting breaking stories throughout eastern Iowa. He joined the news team in July 2005.

As a kid, Josh had dreams of going to Mars and attended space camp summer after summer. But as a teenager in need of a job shadow experience for a high school class, he found astronauts were few and far between in rural Oklahoma, his home state. Television news had always interested him, but only after experiencing it first-hand in that job shadow program did he ever consider making a career out of it.

He started out by earning a Bachelor’s degree with a major in broadcast journalism and a minor in Spanish from Oklahoma State University. While in Oklahoma, he worked at KWTV-9 in Oklahoma City as an associate producer.

He later moved to KOMU-TV8 in Columbia, Missouri, working as an investigative and general assignment reporter, producer and weekend evening anchor. While at KOMU, Josh earned his Master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in both public policy and broadcast journalism. He also taught the school’s political radio reporting program at the state Capitol.

Josh’s favorite stories involve meeting interesting Iowans. From traveling to NYC’s Tribeca Film Festival interviewing stars on the red carpet to driving Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace’s racecar, Josh covers a variety of big stories with local angles. Throw in a mix of tornadoes, snow storms and floods, and Josh’s day at work can be quite out of the ordinary.

At KCRG, Josh delivered the award-winning special monthly report, “Sizing Up Small Schools.” The series profiled small schools in eastern Iowa facing the challenges of staying open while struggling to offer students the best possible education. Viewers can also read his Small Schools Blog, where Josh offers a unique perspective after graduating from a small school himself.

In 2007, Josh received the Excellence in Writing award from the Iowa Broadcast News Association for a collection of stories about eastern Iowans, ranging from a husband/wife demolition team to an amazing athlete without legs to a sex offender who discovered religion in prison. He also earned a regional Emmy nomination and an Associated Press award for his sports feature coverage that year. The Missouri Broadcasting Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Oklahoma Broadcasting Association are also among the organizations to award Josh during the past few years.

In his spare time, Josh enjoys tennis, music, scary movies, traveling, walking his dog Ruby, and spending time with family and friends.

E-mail Josh at Josh.Hinkle@kcrg.com.

 Click here to listen to Josh's favorite songs on iTunes.