No, I’m not related to Paul…

Born and raised in Salina, KS, I graduated from Salina Central High in 2001. It was in 2001 that I got my first job in broadcasting: after spending time as an intern, I got hired on to be a part of the morning radio show for KILS-FM 92.7, The Zoo in Salina. What a blast! I had so much fun being a part of that show. After a few months I was asked to become more involved, reading morning sports and news. Plus, there was a stretch over the summer where I worked overnights helping convert all of the CDs to digital tracks in the computer. This required me to be live on-air and it ended up being a fun call-in show with the people working at the Tony’s Pizza factory in town. Things were going so well, the station offered me a full-time job. However, I knew I needed to go to college and get an education. I opted to take a 900 mile journey to North Dakota for schooling. Yeah, North Dakota! Why, you ask? There was a Broadcasting program there, and tuition was cheap (even being an out-of-state student).

Within days of being in the Great White North, I was hired to work for Clear Channel radio in Minot, ND. I started as the overnight/weekend DJ for KZPR 105.3 The Fox and 910 AM KCJB. Now, for those wondering, my radio name of JD Black had already been given to me by this point from my Salina radio days (thanks JJ and Brother Ken!).
Within a few months I had worked my way up to “general fill-in guy”. Doesn’t sound that great, but it was a huge opportunity for me. Basically anytime someone was ill or on vacation, I got to fill their shift on any one of the six stations Clear Channel owned in town. I got a taste of EVERY radio format!

By Spring of 2002, I landed the afternoon drive shift (2-7p) on KIZZ-FM, Z-94, the top 40 station. It was a perfect fit for me. We had a lot of fun playing various games and contests on the air and I greatly enjoyed getting paid to have a good time at “work”.
Two years later I was promoted to Music Director of KIZZ-FM. Here I was at 21-years-old and I was finishing college at Minot State, winning radio awards, and programming Minot’s #1 Hit Music Station. I could hardly believe this was happening to me!

Perhaps one of the best honors of my radio career was given to me in September of 2004 when I was awarded “Best Radio Show in the State”, topping DJs from Bismarck and Fargo that had been doing radio for years. I was stunned. Everything was going well for me, so well, in fact, that I got a call from a former radio friend that wanted me to do some voice work back in Salina. For a few months not only was I on the air in North Dakota, but I was also being heard on The Buzz, 104.9 in Salina, KS! How cool was that?! However, it wouldn’t last long. The radio business was in a tailspin and soon things would greatly change for me. The Buzz was sold to new owners and my services were no longer needed. At the same time, issues arose in Minot leading to me and Clear Channel parting ways (they didn’t like me working for another station, even if it was states away). After nearly five years in the radio business I found myself wondering “what now?”. Luck was on my side.

A few days after leaving radio, I got a call from KXMC, the CBS TV station in Minot. They were looking to find a weekend weather guy. TV wasn’t ever a field I thought I would be a part of, but here was my chance to be a weatherman…something I had always wanted to be. Plus, I didn’t think I had the right “look” for TV. I was a plump 255lbs; not ideal TV weight. However, in December of 2004, I began my career in television. I made my on air debut a couple weeks later; see my first weather cast by clicking this link.
By the summer of ‘05 I also started doing news reporting for the station as well. I could not believe how much fun TV was. And soon enough, I began winning awards for my TV work.

May of 2005 marked my final semester at Minot State. I walked across the stage with a B.A. in Broadcasting that spring. During that semester of school I also revamped the broadcasting department’s weather capabilities. Adding a green screen, graphics and more. I stayed on as an assistant of sorts to the college, helping with such events as the annual KMSU auction and serving as play-by-play guy for live broadcasts of the college basketball games.

More changes came my way toward the end of 2006. I was contacted about taking a job “across the street” for the NBC station. They wanted me to be their main weather anchor. On January 7th, 2007 I made my debut as the Weather Director of KMOT-TV. Thanks to some sponsorships, we managed to add several “toys” to the weather department, including an outdoor Weather Deck. Now I was able to deliver the forecast 5 nights a week; with some of those weathercasts putting me right outside in the elements.

In 2007, I was honored to be named the “Weatherperson of the Year” by the North Dakota Broadcasters Association. Truly a highlight of my young career.

KMOT taught me so much about TV and about weather. In addition to work, I had also been taking classes from Mississippi State University so that I could get my Certificate in Meteorology. Might as well capitalize on things, right?! It was also during this time I really tried my best to slim down and drop some of the weight I’d been carting around for years. Thanks to some proper dieting and exercise, I managed to lose about 40 pounds between the end of 2006 and the end of 2007.

As it seems, more changes were about to impact me heading toward 2008. I was informed that one of the TV stations I grew up watching in Wichita, KS had an opening for a meteorologist. I didn’t think I had much of a chance, but sent a copy of my work to them and waited for a response. To my surprise, they wanted to hire me. January 5th, 2008 was my final newscast on KMOT, as I then packed up my things and moved to Wichita. I began working on-air at KSNW on Jan. 8th, just three days later.
I finished my Certificate from Mississippi State in the summer of 2008 and shortly after applied for an AMS seal of approval. Six months later, I was awarded the seal and crossed another major milestone in my broadcasting career.

I continued to try and lose more weight during my time at KSN, managing to drop about another 30 pounds over the course of a couple years. It feels great to not walk in front of the camera and see a huge blob of ‘me’ anymore!

I managed to work my way up the KSN ladder over time. I was promoted up to weekend evening meteorologist in March of 2009. By the summer of 2011, I was promoted once again. This time I took over the 10p weeknight meteorologist spot. Yep, I was back on-air giving the forecast five nights a week. In January of 2012, KSN began producing the 9p newscast for KSAS (FOX Kansas) in Wichita. I was asked to serve as the weeknight 9p Meteorologist for them. This put me on air every weeknight at 9p & 10p giving weather forecasts.

In the Fall of 2013, it was time for a change. KSHB-TV in Kansas City came calling and asked if I’d like to be their new weekend evening Meteorologist. Given a few things taking place behind the scenes in Wichita (the station had been bought and sold three times in five years), I jumped at the chance. While it’s never easy to leave behind friends both on air and off, this was an opportunity too good to pass up. By October of 2013 I was on the air in KC. Amazing!

Two years into working at 41 Action News, they asked me to compete on a nationally syndicated game show owned by the company called Let’s Ask America; the show was hosted by famed M-TV video DJ Bill Bellamy. It was a weather-themed episode and yours truly managed to win the whole thing! Since it was for charity, I didn’t get to keep any money but I was more than honored to donate $27,500 to the Red Cross Disaster Relief chapter in K.C.. Yes, add game show winner to my resume.

In the Summer of 2016, I asked the woman of my dreams to marry me (she said yes). I was able to pull of a private proposal at Kauffman Stadium while the team was on the road. Many thanks to Toby & the crew for all of their help! The Royals have been a keystone in our relationship, so it was only fitting I have them involved somehow!
In September, Alyson and I tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in her homestate of Illinois. Truly I say to you: I am blessed!

My creative work blending weather forecasting and graphics (with a dash of humor) paid off in October of 2016. I was honored to receive an EMMY for my work as a TV weather talent. It was the first EMMY I was ever nominated for, so truly humbling and rewarding.
Also in the fall of 2016 I made a move within the EW Scripps company. I was promoted to weekday morning meteorologist for Cleveland station WEWS-TV (News 5). It’s a much larger TV market and put me back on weekdays for the first time since Wichita.

While getting up at 12:30am wasn’t easy (yes, that’s actually when my alarm would go off each morning), I truly enjoyed getting to have some fun and help people start their day. From tracking intense lake-effect snow bands, to dodging tornadoes, NE Ohio weather kept me on my toes. I also got to do a couple of weather forecasts on the actual field of Progressive Field.
However, the end of 2018 brought new opportunities and new adventures for me…

Spectrum News launched a brand new, 24-7 cable news channel in Ohio *and* in Wisconsin in November of 2018. I was lucky enough to catch a break and join the Wisconsin team, becoming the Chief Meteorologist for Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin (making me their first-ever chief!). This move put my wife and I almost literally in her parent’s backyard. This was something she has wanted since day one; being back close to her family.

My time at SN1 was a whirlwind. I developed policies and procedures from scratch. Was asked to totally revamp the weather graphics for the entire company–and then deliver them to each station for installation and training to the weather teams. Plus we started doing weather forecasts for Kansas City! Funny how that worked out. It was an honor to lead the department and serve the thousands of viewers across Wisconsin and Kansas City.

On a personal level, life brought changes while working at Spectrum News 1. In 2018, we welcomed a baby girl into the world. I got blessed to add the title of “dad” to my resume; the most important and best role I’ve ever had in my life. Then in 2023, another baby joined the family, this time we welcomed a boy into the world. Dad times two now! And let me tell you: being a parent is no joke. I now realize why my poor mother was stressed out so much!!

My time at Spectrum News 1 came to an end in the fall of 2024 after fulfilling two contracts. 90% of what we did was recorded and involved no interaction with anyone else. I was starting to feel stale and stuck. But then I asked for a slightly different role (director of weather graphics and on-air presentation) in order to help the company stay consistent across markets, while training the meteorologists on how to use the multi-million dollar weather systems. My hope was to have a better work-life balance for my family too. However, the station did not want me leaving the role of Chief Meteorologist. We then decided it was best to part ways and see what the future would bring.

I picked up freelance on-air work at CBS58 in Milwaukee in January of 2025. I covered weekends mainly but also did a fair share of fill-in work on the morning program and evening shows. It was amazing to get back into doing live television again! Cross talk with anchors, laughing and having fun while giving the weather… that’s what I really missed. But by July of 2025, the station found their new permanent weather team member and it wasn’t me. My services were no longer needed and I was told it has nothing to do with my abilities; just simply a matter of “too talented to be in this role”. I really didn’t know how to take that! Yet, I had a feeling that maybe this was my time to change careers and look at something which would allow me to be home more. Something to where I can be around more for my wife and two kids.

Thanks to some encouragement from an old friend as well as a current family member, I started looking into the process of being a Financial Advisor. I took a lot of online classes and tests. In 2025, I managed to get my Life insurance license as well as my Health insurance live and I passed the SIE exam. But, I struggled with the Series 7 exam–a needed hurdle to legally advise/sell securities. So I pivoted to just selling life insurance for my brother-in-law. If you need a quote, let me know! 😀

I have no idea where this crazy road is going to take me next. But I will continue to follow it. And who knows where I may end up…and when. Keep your eyes peeled! Over the past hand full of years, I have had some wild offers: I could have been a chief meteorologist in Cincinnati. I could have been working in Atlanta for the Weather Channel (touring their facility was jaw-dropping). And yeah, I even had multiple offers to come back to Kansas City. All of those just didn’t work out for one odd reason or another.

Again, anything is possible and who knows where God may place is next. I’ve always been blessed to have this life and do what I do. I’ll go where the road leads me.

A SPECIAL thanks to those who have helped me along the way: Norwood, you’ve been a great friend for many years. You’ve helped me move halfway across the country twice and been there during the tough times. I can’t thank you enough! Here’s to you, buddy!
Neil, Mike B, JJ: you guys taught me more than you can ever realize about broadcasting. Believe me, I have learned so much from each of you.
To my KX & KMOT families: thank you guys for being there and being awesome as I broke into the TV business. We had some fun, didn’t we?! To this day, still some of the best moments of my career. I will never forget where I came from, and the lessons I learned while first starting out.