News Team

Reporters

Caroline Lowe

Caroline Lowe has been on the crime beat for WCCO-TV since 1977. 2007 marks her 30th year with the station. She is also a licensed Minnesota police officer. She has received numerous awards for her reporting, including: The Alfred I. DuPont Columbia Award for Missing The Beat in 1994, two Regional Emmy Awards in 1994, Sweepstakes Award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 1994, an Associated Press award and an UPI award. In 1986, Caroline was awarded the Minnesota Association of Crime Victims Media Attention Service Award, the first time that award was given to a member of the media.

Caroline's work on the crime beat has gotten results within communities. She extensively covered the disappearance of Mason City, Iowa anchorwoman, Jodi Huisentruit. Her work on a couple of I-TEAM pieces about a possible suspect in the Huisentruit case helped investigators link that man to two unrelated unsolved rapes through DNA tests. Caroline appeared on 20/20 to talk about the 10th anniversary of Huisentruit's disappearance and the work she did to try to uncover Huisentruit's killer.

Caroline also worked on an I-TEAM report about the interrogation of a girl who was abducted. Patty Wetterling and law enforcement now use Caroline's story for training. Her work has generated national attention. It has been featured on Court TV, Oprah (watch the video) and the program Forensic Files.

A few years ago, Caroline was speaking to a group of Minneapolis police recruits when they began to question her credentials.  They wondered how Caroline could report on the crime beat even though she had never taken any law enforcement or criminal justice classes. This got Caroline thinking.  She decided to return to college after a 20-year break to earn a B.S. in law enforcement from Metropolitan State University.

Caroline was named the "Outstanding Student in the School of Law Enforcement." Because of this, she was selected to deliver the commencement speech in May 2002.  She said this speech was very meaningful because her 80-year-old father was in the audience, and he finally got to see her get her degree.  Sadly, he died a few months later.

As part of her law enforcement program, Caroline attended eight weeks of "cop school." This experience was featured in a number of reports on WCCO-TV in Fall 2001. An article was also written about Caroline's experience. Caroline also passed the Minnesota police officer's licensing exam in 2002.  She has taken leave from WCCO-TV during the Minnesota State Fair in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 to patrol the Fair as an officer.  In 2006, Star Tribune reporter Joe Kimball walked with her on her State Fair beat. Additionally, Caroline has demonstrated the effects of a Taser and has donned a padded suit to demonstrate K-9 officer training.

Caroline is the only reporter in Minnesota to have a license and may be the only one in the country. Caroline finished her master's degree in police leadership from the University of St. Thomas in December 2004.  She is also a guest faculty member at the Center for Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, where she teaches a class on the role of media and police. Additionally, she is on the community faculty at Metropolitan State University and is a member of the their alumni board.

Caroline frequently speaks at colleges and conferences about the roles of media and police. "I hope by explaining the role of the media, it helps demystify what we do and builds better communication," Caroline said. She advises that it is never too late to go back to school.

Caroline, along with the Minneapolis Junior League, worked with the Minneapolis police department in 1994 to create a private waiting room for children who are victims of abuse. She also helped create a reading program for children whose parents are in jail.

When not chasing down the latest crime news, Caroline likes to run and travel with her family.  Now that she has finished her master's degree, she is going to take her first cooking class.

Caroline completed her first marathon in June 2005 in Anchorage, Alaska.  She was part of Team in Training, and her group, from Minnesota, raised $218,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Caroline also writes a blog, Caroline's Crime Scene Blog, and keeps a list of Crime Links which she hopes will help keep you and your family safe.

Video: Lakeville Officer Rick Bussler's Nov. 2007 Report On Caroline

Contact Caroline

Request Caroline To Come Speak At Your Event