WILL Weather Staff
Ed Kieser
WILL meteorologist Ed Kieser has been marking up weather maps with a grease pencil since he was a 10-year-old preparing elaborate weather presentations for his family. "I was always interested in things outside and in geography," says Ed. "As many meteorologists do, I started taking weather observations, marking a calendar with low and high temperatures each day. I first took the information from TV weather reports, then I got a maximum/minimum thermometer and started to do it on my own."
Ed says his younger sister thought he was a bit strange, "but my parents were always encouraging. I still have my first thermometer at my mother's house in Ohio, and I still take the temperature every time I go home."
Growing up in the "snow belt" of northeast Ohio, Ed found plenty of weather phenomena to interest him. "I was always fascinated by the lake-effect snow that we received," he says. "How did we get snow when other areas of the state didn't?"
He also remembers the April 3, 1974, outbreak of tornadoes in Ohio, including the Xenia tornado that killed more than 30 people, injured 1,100, and destroyed more than 1,000 homes. Other tornadoes hit the Cincinnati and Columbus areas, along with Northern Kentucky and Eastern Indiana. "I had just received a weather radio about a week earlier," says Ed. "I followed all the severe weather bulletins very closely."
His interest in weather led to a bachelor's degree (1983) and then a master's (1987) in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. While at Penn State, Ed took a few classes in broadcasting and worked as television weather anchor for WNEP-TV in Scranton, and as a country music deejay for WGMR-FM in State College.
In 1987, Ed joined the staff at WILL, which has a continuing commitment to in-depth weather reporting. "Working in public broadcasting allows me to take time to explain things," he says. "I have the flexibility to be creative in how I approach my broadcasts and have the time to go in depth into some of the forecasts."
Ed's job as WILL meteorologist goes beyond forecasting the central Illinois weather. Every Friday, Kieser or WILL-AM weather producer Mike Sola hosts the popular Talk to Ed and Talk to Mike segments that air at 7:50 am and 12:40 pm. Listeners call 333-9455 or (800) 222-9455 to get forecasts for travel destinations around the country and answers to weather-related questions.
Ed holds the American Meteorological Society's Seal of Approval for weathercasting on both radio and television. He was named 2001 Best Media Personality by readers of the Champaign-Urbana weekly, The Octopus. Many people in the communities served by WILL say they've learned about what to do in a tornado by listening to Ed on the radio or by attending one of his free yearly tornado safety seminars. Ed's multimedia programs examine the conditions that favor severe weather such as tornadoes, and provide advice about what do when one heads your way. "I've met people who told me when their area was hit by a tornado, they knew what to do because of my show," he says.
In addition, a television special that airs yearly on WILL-TV, Tornadoes with Ed Kieser, has been distributed to schools and libraries in the WILL-TV viewing area. Ed also teaches "Introduction to Weather," a 4-credit laboratory course, at Parkland College in Champaign.
Ed presents a free seminar, Tornado Safety with Ed Kieser every year. This multimedia program examines the conditions that favor severe weather such as tornadoes, and gives advice about what do when one heads your way. "I've met people who told me when their area was hit by a tornado, they knew what to do because of my show," says Ed.
Mike Sola
For a man who likes to perform and inform, but is hesitant to face a huge crowd, a job in front of a microphone or camera provides the ideal working conditions.
"I like working in radio and television because you reach a lot of people, but you're not looking at the audience," says WILL's Mike Sola. "I'm actually sort of shy, and I can imagine I'm talking to one person at a time out there listening and watching."
As the youngest of 10 children growing up on the south side of Chicago, Mike didn't have far to look to find an audience. He simply headed for his parents' tavern or laundromat, and he had a ready-made crowd. "I was always a ham," he says.
Mike joined the staff of WILL as a radio weather producer in 2000. He was the morning weathercaster on WCIA-TV in Champaign from 1993 to 1998. He has a degree in broadcasting from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and was also a general assignment reporter during his 16 years working at WCIA. That background, along with high school years in the small Illinois agricultural community of Piper City, makes him enthusiastic about reaching out to the community. His first child was born during the period he was on the air at WCIA, he says, and people he doesn't know still recognize him and ask about his family.
Mike says he feels equally comfortable in either radio or television. "It doesn't matter to me whether I'm on TV or radio," he says. "It's the deciphering and relaying of information about the weather that really inspires me."
