Anchor / Reporters
Dennis Douda
Dennis Douda, an anchor and reporter for WCCO-TV, joined the staff in 1998.
He has won multiple Regional Emmys for his anchoring, writing and reporting.
Among his many duties, Dennis is WCCO-TV's medical reporter, leading the Lifeline health news unit. Dennis describes this as the most rewarding news beat he has covered in his years as a journalist.
"Some of what we report is potentially life-saving, and much of it is life-changing for viewers in need of solutions to medical problems," Dennis said.
A passionate angler and hunter since childhood, Dennis is actively involved with many Minnesota conservation groups. He has worked with the State Department of Natural Resources and the Wild Turkey Federation to help expand the population and range of wild turkeys in Minnesota.
Dennis is curious about many things and has hobbies that he said celebrate the beauty that surrounds us, but also teach us how to tackle the challenges in life.
Learning to ride a unicycle when he was eight-years-old worked like that, get the wheel to go around once, then twice, until you just keep on going. Dennis still rides the unicycle because it's fun and a good workout.
Like many other Minnesotans, bow hunting is his obsession. Dennis and his three kids love the woods too, and they spend hours watching wildlife and hunting wild mushrooms. He says they plant fruit trees at their cabin just for the birds and animals to eat.
Years ago, Dennis said he was intensely curious about stained glass art and learned how to make stained glass windows and hanging glass panels because it's a challenge to envision a scene and then make it come to life in the glass.
Dennis compares words to pieces of cut glass.
"If you can arrange them just the right way they paint a colorful, moving picture, a story," he said. "Writing TV news stories is so enjoyable for me because of that creative challenge."
The power of well-chosen words is so captivating, Dennis also writes poetry, screenplays and feature articles as a hobby. He hopes that someday he'll put enough words together to create his own great American novel.
Contact DennisRequest Dennis To Come Speak At Your Event
