After 13 years of informing us, Laura Lee says goodbye to ABC 6 News

Even if you’ve never met her, you probably feel like you know Laura Lee.

She’s been showing up on tv screens for more than a decade. She started at ABC 6 as a reporter in 2010. It was her first on-air TV job. She didn’t have experience, but she did have grit.

“It was difficult, but I wasnt going to let anything stop me. I wanted to be a reporter and I wanted to be in a newsroom,” Lee said.

Our bosses noticed and only a year on the job she was promoted. Nearly 13 years later she’s one of the longest-serving anchors at this station. From the moment she started here, she put her heart into her work, not  afraid to look silly, willing to do just about anything to tell a good story and never afraid to ask tough questions and never afraid to show compassion. Whether she talked with parents who’ve lost a child or victims of childhood trauma.

“These tears, this isn’t sadness. It’s me letting all this out because I wasn’t able to do it for so long.”

Like the man who spoke to Laura about being a victim of clergy sex abuse.

Her investigative reporting has lead to new federal legislation as she worked with firefighters and highlighted their concerns about cancer. It’s why she was asked to helped cut the ribbon when Albert Lea opened its new fire station with updated gear and safety equipment.

Parents came to Laura when children in a small town started being diagnosed with cancer. She helped get answers from the state health department. She helped a mother in Winona who reached out when her son was taken by Russian forces in Ukraine. Laura’s reporting got Senator Amy Klobuchar involved and within days that young man was back home in Winona.

She’s highlighted the men and women in law enforcement and done almost anything  you can imagine to benefit local charity from dancing to kissing farm animals.

She’s helped recognize teachers and has helped pay it forward.

Her work has has earned her nominations for seven Emmy awards and recognition from some of the most respected journalism organizations, but that’s not why Laura does this. She does it because she wants to make a difference. Her values instilled in her thanks to her Hmong culture and her parents who immigrated to the United States with just the clothes on their back and raised eight successful children.

That’s what Laura does every single day whether she’s at the anchor desk, reporting in the field or offering advice to young journalists, she always is someone you can count on. A colleague, a friend, a role model for all of us. Thank you, Laura. Your impact is greater than you’ll ever know on our community, on our station and on all the lives you’ve touched.