The CBS-affiliated Channel 31 news station has enjoyed several talented news anchors who have captivated the viewers over the decades.
However, many have left for various reasons, including jobs in other TV channels or opportunities outside the media industry.
Below is a look at the most notable former Channel 31 news anchor and their current whereabouts.
1. Faith Daniels
Faith Daniels is an American broadcast journalist, reporter, TV news anchor, and talk show host. She is a former WMBD-TV news anchor who used to cover the weather newscast.
The Pennsylvania native attended Bethany College and graduated with a degree in mass communication.
She started her career in the media industry as a junior in college, working as an intern at WTRF-TV.
After college, Daniels moved to Peoria, Illinois, where she worked for WRAU-TV and WMBD-TV.
In 1985, she moved to CBS as the morning news anchor, becoming one of the youngest national news anchors.
She later joined NBC as a news anchor, and a talk show host for the daytime talk show A Closer Look. Daniels is no longer in the media industry; she now works as a media consultant.
2. Liza Danver
Liza Danver, a former broadcast journalist, was a fill-in anchor and reporter at WMBD-TV Channel 31.
She attended Ohio University and graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism. Her first job was at WMBD-TV in 2003, and she was with Channel 31 for two years.
From WMBD-TV, Danver worked for several other channels, such as WFIE-TV (reporter/weekend anchor), WISH-TV (fill-in anchor), and WKEF-TV (senior reporter/anchor).
However, in 2013, she left her career in the media to become a business developer for MB Senior Solutions.
Danver has since worked in several other roles, such as a claims specialist for Bank of America, account executive for Downey Publishing, and business development manager for Scene75.
She is now a project manager at Great Roofing & Restoration in Cincinnati.
3. Martin Savidge
Martin Savidge is a Canadian-American broadcast journalist and one of the most famous former WMBD-TV Peoria news anchors.
Savidge grew up in Ohio, attended Ohio University, and graduated with a degree in journalism.
His first job in the media was at WCIA-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor, and he then moved to WMBD-TV as an anchor and correspondent.
Savidge then left Channel 31 and has since worked for several other media outlets, including WJW-TV, CNN, NBC, Time Inc Studios, and WNET (Channel 13).
Since 2011, Savidge has been a correspondent and anchor for CNN Newsroom.
4. Dave Snell
Dave Snell is a TV and radio broadcast journalist. He is a former WMBD-TV news anchor who used to cover sports stories.
Snell attended Bradley University, graduating with a degree in Speech and Theatre in 1976.
He then worked in the front office of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns before joining WTAZ radio as a broadcaster for high school football games.
Snell briefly worked for WIRL as a sports reporter before joining WMBD-TV in 1979 as a sports anchor.
He left Channel 31 in 2001 to join Bradley University’s athletics department, where he currently works as the assistant director of athletic communications.
Dave Snell has been a play-by-play announcer for the Bradley University men’s basketball team since 1979. He has covered over 1,300 games for the team so far.
5. Bob Larson
Bob Larson is a retired American broadcast journalist. He was a legendary WMBD-TV Peoria new anchor who spent over 43 years at Channel 31.
Larson, a native of Morris, Illinois, attended Texas Christian University. He started working as a radio broadcaster when he was 16 years old.
After college, he moved to Peoria, where he joined WMBD, initially working as a radio news anchor. He then moved to WMBD-TV as a weatherman before working his way up to become an anchor.
Larson retired from WMBD-TV in 2014. However, in 2016, he briefly returned to Channel 31 to host a 6 p.m. weekly news feature, Active Life with Bob Larson.
6. Lisa Miller
Lisa Miller is a former broadcast journalist who became a media relations expert. She spent nearly ten years at Channel 31 as a reporter and news anchor.
Miller attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism.
She also attained an MA in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield.
Miller joined WMBD-TV in 2003 as a morning and noon newscast anchor. She also worked as a nightside reporter and was Channel 31’s primary political reporter.
While at WMBD, she was an adjunct instructor at Bradley University and Illinois Central College.
In 2013, Lisa Miller left WMBD to join Caterpillar Inc., where she works as a senior public affairs & media relations communications professional.
7. Shelli Dankoff
Shelli Dankoff is a former broadcast journalist and news anchor at WMBD-TV Channel 21.
She was Bob Larson’s co-anchor between 1993 and 1999. She and Bob also co-hosted the annual Santa Claus Parade in Peoria.
Dankoff attended Ohio University and graduated with a BA in Telecommunications and Journalism.
She then joined KTTC-TV in Rochester, Minnesota, as a reporter, anchor, and producer.
Dankoff also worked as an anchor for WEEK-TV (Peoria) and as a freelance reporter for WXII-TV (Winston-Salem) before joining WMBD-TV as a news anchor and reporter.
After six years with Channel 31, she left to become a TV fundraising host and producer for Easter Seals, a non-profit organization in Chicago, Illinois.
She then joined OS Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria as a senior media relations specialist.
Dankoff moved to OSF Healthcare in 2015 as a media relations coordinator. Since 2023, she has been the organization’s media relations and multimedia services manager.
8. Hanna Hilyard
Hanna Hilyard is a reporter for WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a former anchor and reporter for WMBD-TV.
The Peoria native attended Bowling Green State University, where she graduated with a broadcast journalism degree and a minor in political science.
While at college, Hilyard was a reporter, producer, and anchor for the university’s student TV station BG24 News. She also interned at KGWN (Cheyenne, Wyoming) and WTOL (Toledo, Ohio).
Hilyard joined WMBD-TV in 2014, where she worked as a reporter and anchor before moving to KCCI-TV (Des Moines, Iowa) as a reporter. She has been working at WISN-TV since 2019.
9. Anne Marie Tiernon
annemarietiernon
Anne Marie Tiernon is an American journalist who used to work as a news anchor for WMBD-TV.
She anchors the 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts at WTHR, an NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Tiernon attended Indiana University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance. She also has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University.
Her first job in the media industry was at WMBD-TV in 1990, where she worked as a weekend anchor, producer, and show editor. She also doubled as a general assignment reporter for the channel.
After a year at WMBD-TV, she left for WISH-TV (Indianapolis, Indiana), where she worked as a reporter and weekday anchor.
She then moved to WLWT-TV (Cincinnati, Ohio) as a special projects reporter and weekday anchor before joining WTHR-TV in 2004.
10. Lauren Cervantes
Lauren Cervantes is a former broadcast journalist. She spent nearly seven years as a news anchor at WMBD-TV.
Cervantes graduated with a Journalism & Mass Communication degree from the University of Iowa. She also studied Spanish at Universidad de Valladolid.
After college, Cervantes joined FOX Chicago News as a producer, co-host for a web segment, and PA for the Good Day Chicago show.
She also briefly worked as a writer and location scout manager for 20 West Productions before joining WTVO-TV as a morning news anchor.
Cervantes also worked as a reporter and anchor for WKMG News 6 before joining WMBD in 2016 as an anchor. Since 2023, she has worked as a territory manager at Patterson Dental.