Joanna Small came to KIRO 7 in April 2014. She grew up all over but calls Aurora, Colorado, her hometown (but she insists she's only a fair-weather Broncos fan). She's a University of Colorado Boulder graduate. She took her first job in journalism as a one-woman band-- anchoring, shooting, producing and reporting-- in the small town of Williston, ND. From KUMV-TV she moved to the main station in Bismarck, KFYR-TV, where she was a morning anchor and reporter, then a noon anchor and the station's health reporter. Prior to taking the job at KIRO she worked as a reporter for six and a half years at KSPR in Springfield, Missouri. At KSPR Joanna had the opportunity to report on some stories that truly touched her heart, most notably the Joplin tornado in 2011 and the Boston Marathon in 2013. A series of stories she did on a 12-year-old boy who was killed in the EF5 tornado that took 162 lives won her a regional Emmy. She was actually running the Boston Marathon when the two bombs exploded in April 2013. She reported for her station and others around the country that day and returned to Boston six months later to re-run the marathon on her own, using a camera strapped to her chest to document her own personal healing journey and interview people in every town along the route about their healing journeys as well. Joanna won a second regional Emmy for a story she did about a unique place to worship-- in a bar. She was also part of the KSPR team that won the national Edward R. Murrow award in 2013 for Best Newscast after a powerful tornado destroyed the Branson strip. Joanna is a huge outdoor enthusiast who loves hiking the PNW. She's an avid runner and loves just being active from boxing to lifting weights. She tries to run a marathon a year. For fun she also enjoys writing, and taking care of her pets-- her cat Annabelle and Shiba Inu Makena. She's still new to Seattle and always looking for a great storyJoanna is a huge outdoor enthusiast who loves hiking the PNW. She's an avid runner and loves just being active from boxing to lifting weights. She tries to run a marathon a year. For fun she also enjoys writing, and taking care of her pets-- her cat Annabelle and Shiba Inu Makena. She's still new to Seattle and always looking for a great story.