
Kelcey Carlson
Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Kelcey left Purdue Boilermaker country to pursue a career at in-state rival Indiana University. She majored in Journalism with a concentration in Political Science and earned a minor in French while there.
Fresh out of college and ready for an adventure, she headed to South Carolina where she got her first job in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market at CBS affiliate WBTW. Hired as a weekend producer, she was quickly thrust into several big stories in her first two months including the crash of flight TWA 800, Hurricanes Bertha and Fran. She later earned a position as a "one-man band" reporter/photographer, shooting and editing her own stories for daily newscasts.
After WBTW, Kelcey was hired on at WWMT-Ch. 3 in Kalamazoo, Michigan where she was sent to cover several big stories including the 2000 Presidential Election uncertainty in West Palm Beach, FL and the execution of Timothy McVeigh. It was in Kalamazoo, that Kelcey started doing more investigative reporting, earning awards for her stories on the Sex Offender Registry. She was later named weekday morning anchor.
The bulk of Kelcey’s career was spent at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. Hired initially as a reporter, she moved on to anchor weekend newscasts and then the weekday morning show. Kelcey covered several big hurricanes in her time there, including Hurricane Isabel which devastated the southern Outer Banks. She covered the Duke Lacrosse case and was in charge of the station’s coverage of the criminal case against presidential candidate John Edwards. She was also live near Boylston Street after running in the Boston Marathon in 2013 after the bombings happened. She earned Emmy nominations for her enterprise reporting, her work on John Edwards’ criminal case and won an Emmy for Best Weekend Newscast. She spent 10 and a half years in Raleigh and values the experience she gained there covering Federal Courts, Final Four wins and the Hurricane’s Stanley Cup victory.
In 2014, she ventured north to Minnesota for a great opportunity for her family with FOX 9 as the main evening anchor. Kelcey received a tip about Prince’s death and was the first reporter to arrive at Paisley Park the morning of his death. She field anchored FOX 9’s coverage that day and she also field anchored live coverage after the explosion at Minnehaha Academy. In her time at FOX 9, she’s covered the Super Bowl in Houston and the Super Bowl in our backyard here in the Twin Cities. She also helped to break the news of P.J. Fleck’s hiring at the University of Minnesota with the help of her contacts from back in Kalamazoo.
In her free time, Kelcey is an avid runner, completing 31 marathons to date. That includes 7 Boston Marathons, 3 of which she qualified under the men’s timing standard. She’s been on many tough and emotional assignments, but standing near Boylston Street after the bombings was one of the most emotional. Juggling live shots and messages from friends and family checking to see if she was okay, the story hit a deeply personal level. She’s also run Chicago, Berlin and Grandma’s Marathon. And once upon a time, Kelcey won a marathon. It was the Grandfather Mountain Marathon in Boone, North Carolina in 2011, just 4 months after her second child was born. When she was nearing the finish line, a woman standing out on the mountain road yelled, "have you ever won a marathon before?" To which she replied, "no ma’am!" The woman yelled back, "well, you’re about to win one today!"
But by far Kelcey’s favorite and most important assignment is her family. She and her husband Dave are parents to Charlie, Kellen and Kathryn. They are her biggest accomplishments in life and family time is always the best time. When they can, they like to get away to their cabin in Wisconsin to fish, relax and simply waste some time together.
Kelcey has served on the board for Girls on the Run in both Kalamazoo and Raleigh. And she is currently on the board for The Positive Coaching Alliance in Minnesota. She and her husband also produce a podcast for PCA called "My Sports Life for PCA MN" in which they’ve interviewed athletes like Lou Nanne, Matt Birk, Corey Koskie and others about their path to success and overcoming tough odds.
The latest from Kelcey Carlson
Dr. Michael Osterholm reflects on COVID-19 outbreak: 5 years later
Dr. Michael Osterholm is a world-renowned epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota. He sounded the warning alarms in January 2020 about the dangers of COVID-19 and recalls he was initially met with some opposition from colleagues.
Sun Country Airlines CEO talks industry safety, what's ahead for airline
At a time when airline safety is on the minds of many travelers, FOX 9 had the chance to sit down with Sun Country’s CEO to talk about the industry, new guidelines and how his airline is growing post-COVID.
Whistleblower case against United Health Group said to lack evidence
After 14 years, thousands of pages of legal documents and depositions, a whistleblower case against Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group is now said to be lacking in evidence.
Search for Jodi Huisentruit: Investigators fight for search warrant release
Attorneys argued in court on Monday for authorities to release search warrants related to the disappearance of Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit, who went missing nearly 30 years ago.
Mark Cuban working to change pharmacy pricing, make them more transparent
Mark Cuban is best known for business and basketball, but lately his passion has been shaking up the pharmaceutical world by showing the wholesale costs of many generic drugs and an independent pharmacist from Minnesota was among those he consulted with for wholesale pricing.
Special events planned for Minneapolis’ oldest cemetery after Underground Railroad designation
Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery in Minneapolis, the final resting place for Black soldiers who fought for the Union Army, has received an important new designation.
Cigna sues, wants leeway to tell customers which pharmacies to use
A giant healthcare company is suing the State of Minnesota over a state law that is supposed to protect small pharmacies in rural parts of the state.
Wisconsin couple sues Optum Rx and Walgreens for son’s asthma death
A Wisconsin couple has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota-based Optum Rx and Walgreens for their son’s asthma-related death one year ago.
Generic prescription drug prices marked up as high as 5,000%, investigation finds
A new FTC report found that pharmacy benefit managers have inflated the price of life-saving generic prescription drugs, finding the companies sometimes increased prices of these drugs by 1,000 percent or more.
Prime Therapeutics ordered to pay $10 million for price fixing
Eagan-based Prime Therapeutics has been ordered to pay $10 million in damages after federal arbitration found it engaged in illegal price fixing with competitor Express Scripts to suppress drug reimbursement rates for HIV/AIDS treatments.