WGEM evening news anchor reportedly out

November 12, 2023 793

QUINCY — Ben Van Ness, vice president and general manager at WGEM in Quincy, confirmed Friday morning that Makenzi Henderson is no longer employed by the Gray Television-owned station.

Van Ness did not elaborate on any reasoning for the 38-year-old Henderson’s departure in the announcement.

Henderson was the anchor for the station’s 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts. She started working at WGEM in October 2020 after working just over a year at KIII in Corpus Christi, Tex. until leaving in June 2019. She was an instrumental part of news coverage during her tenure at KIII during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Henderson began her broadcast career in 2007 at Rapid City, S.D.-based KOTA several months after graduating from the University of Minnesota. She is a Minnesota native.

Her departure leaves four remaining regular staff at WGEM:

Daniel Winn: Henderson’s co-anchor since May 2022
Natalie Will: a long-time veteran at WGEM who’s been the host of WGEM News Today since May 2006
Blake Sammann: Will’s morning co-host since February 2022. Sammann has been at WGEM since June 2019
Rajah Maples: No stranger to the Tri-States region, Maples joined WGEM in June 2023 after 17 years at rival station KHQA. Maples is the weekend anchor at WGEM.

Henderson is represented by the Fogelsville, Pa.-based LornaDave Agency.

No responses were returned to Heartland Newsfeed from Van Ness or Henderson as of publication. However, as of November 6, Gray Television has a job listing posted for the evening news anchor position.