Gia Vang is the newest anchor for KARE 11 Sunrise, a Minnesota local NBC affiliate. She joins co-anchors Kris Laudien, Alicia Lewis and meteorologist Sven Sundgaard every weekday from 4:30 to 7 am. According to Star Tribune, she is believed to be the first Hmong American anchor in the Twin Cities market.
She replaces Lauren Leamanczyk who will be joining the anchor team for KARE News at 5.
Vang was formerly a TV journalist in Kansas City, Phoenix, and Fresno. She studied at California State University-Sacramento. Her father currently lives in St. Paul, but Vang was born in Modesto, California after the family moved to the U.S. during the Vietnam War, according to Bringmethenews.com.
Vang told txhawb.com that when she was growing up in Sacramento her parents would watch the local news every night before bed.
“But as a young Hmong girl, I never imagined I’d ever be a news anchor because I didn’t see anyone who particularly looked like me in those days…” Vang said. “After I stepped into a newsroom my junior year of college as an intern, I was hooked. But it would be a long journey full or failures and resilience before I realized my dream of becoming a news anchor.”
Vang told the Star Tribune that she is honored to represent the Hmong community in Twin Cities.
“I feel like the Hmong community has made a huge impact in the Twin Cities. It’s an honor to be a representative of that culture,” Vang said. “If you’re in the industry, you know KARE is a wonderful station that does really amazing work.”
Vang will start at KARE on Monday, July 8.
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