After 30 years at WBAY-TV, Jeff Alexander is leaving the anchor desk but not his 'Small Towns' stories

GREEN BAY - After 30 years at WBAY-TV, Jeff Alexander is leaving his anchor duties at the station but not his popular weekly "Small Towns" profiles .

Alexander announced on his Facebook page earlier this week that Friday will be his last day anchoring "Action 2 News at 4," a position he's held since the newscast began in 2006.

"While I'm stepping back from my anchoring duties, I will be continuing my weekly "Small Towns" series and I'm extremely grateful to WBAY for allowing me this opportunity," he wrote to his nearly 7,000 Facebook followers. "My plan is to spend more time with my family in Washington State where I grew up, especially my mom who is having some health issues."

Alexander is originally from Whidbey Island, located in Puget Sound, 20 miles northwest of Seattle. After a stint in Great Falls, Montana, he joined WBAY as a general assignment reporter and weekend news anchor in August 1994 and was later promoted to the 4 p.m. newscast.

HIs co-anchor for the 4 p.m. slot during all but two of those 18 years was Sarah Thomsen, who sustained a severe concussion in a car crash in May 2022 and continues therapy to recover. She left the station in February after a 20-year career, and it was her colleague and friend Alexander who sat down with the mother of four for a touching farewell segment on the progress she has made in her recovery and the challenges still ahead.

Brittany Schmidt had been sharing the anchor desk with Alexander since Thomsen's absence and then evening co-anchor Cami Rapson more recently. Rapson will be joined by her longtime 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. co-anchor Bill Jartz for the 4 p.m. newscast upon Alexander's departure.

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WBAY viewers will still be able to tune in to "Action News at 6" on Thursdays to see new installments of Alexander's "Small Towns" segments. He travels around northeast Wisconsin to tell the stories of everyday people who do interesting things, from clockmakers and nativity scene collectors to quilters and chainsaw carvers.

Alexander started doing "Small Towns" two years ago and it quickly became a favorite with audiences, generating not only compliments for the uplifting local storytelling but also many suggestions for people to feature.

"I get to continue what I really love doing and that is my weekly 'Small Towns' series ... so every Thursday night you'll still see me," he said during his final newscast. "I'll be back in September for the whole month to shoot a slew more, and we've got some great ones coming up."

He already has enough segments shot to run through September and can do some of the finishing work remotely, he told anchor and sports director Chris Roth during an appearance on "Action 2 News at 4:30."

Roth asked him how difficult it will be to leave the anchor desk.

"It's tough, I mean, I'm not going to lie. It's such a unique position. Very people are television news anchors, let's face it," Alexander said. "I've often told people that no matter what your day is like, stressful or ... your personal life — hey, life isn't always a bowl of cherries — that half-hour you come here, you're locked in and the rest of the world disappears."

His Facebook announcement garnered hundreds of comments from viewers, many mentioning how much they enjoy "Small Towns" and that they understand making family a priority.

Alexander's departure from the anchor desk follows another recent high-profile WBAY departure. In May, "Action 2 News This Morning" co-anchor and traffic reporter Kathryn Bracho left the station after 21 years to work remotely for a public relations firm.

Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com . Follow her on X @KendraMeinert .

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: After 30 years at WBAY-TV, Jeff Alexander is leaving the anchor desk but not his 'Small Towns' stories