KING anchor Jean Enersen to retire from anchor desk

Quick Facts: 

• KING's Jean Enersen to retire from anchor desk but stay with station for other programs.
• She started at KING in 1968.
• Enersen was the first local TV news anchor in the country.
• Leaves anchor desk as nation's longest standing female anchor.

Jean Enersen, a fixture on KING television since 1968, announced Wednesday that she would retire as an anchor but remain at the station.

She was the first female local TV news anchor in the country and leaves as the nation's longest-standing local female anchor.

In a story on her station’s website, Enersen said “the time is right.”

A Mercer Island native and Stanford University graduate, Enersen started at KPIX-TV in San Francisco. She joined KING when it was run by Dorothy Bullitt, who bought Seattle’s first TV station in the 1940s and changed the call letters from KRSC.

Enersen became an evening news anchor in 1972 and briefly co-hosted NBC's "Today" Show. A winner of multiple Emmy awards, she marked her 45^th year with the station last year.

Enersen's last scheduled day on the anchor desk is June 13, KING reported.

"This decision won’t come as a surprise to those who know me well,” Enersen said on KING’s website. “I’ve been passionate about health for a long time. Not just mine, but the health of my family and our community.”

The station said Enersen would continue to work on specials including Northwest Newsmakers. Her announcement comes less than two weeks after Dan Lewis announced he’d retire from KOMO-TV after 27 years on the anchor desk.

Want to talk about the news of the day? Watch free streaming video on the KIRO 7 mobile app and iPad app, and join us here on Facebook.

KIRO