Jemelle Holopirek loses KAKE, Channel 10, job after 23 years

Longtime KAKE, Channel 10, anchor and reporter Jemelle Holopirek has lost her job with the station.

Holopirek issued a statement but declined to discuss the matter further.

“KAKE has been an amazing place to work the last 23 years!” her statement began. “I’m very sad to leave and I’ve loved waking up every morning and having coffee with all you awesome viewers of Kansas.”

Neither KAKE general manager Neal Davis nor news director Anthony Maisel returned calls for comment on Tuesday.

Social media reaction to Holopirek’s dismissal was swift with many people expressing their support for her and their frustration with KAKE.

Here is the rest of Holopirek’s statement:

“Thank you for welcoming me into your home everyday. I feel so honored and blessed. You have been apart of my life since I was 22 years old and now I’m in my forties. You were all there when I had the births of my three children, many of you sent gifts. Thank you! You have helped me raise them by all your parenting advice online, messages and phone calls. Thank you! My coworkers are my friends and I will miss them terribly. Life’s amazing (not always easy) but, everyday is a true blessing. I hope you wake up every Friday and yell out a Woooooo Whooooo Friday! God bless! Again, thanks for letting me be in your home every morning. I don’t know my future plans but, I will keep you posted on my social media pages! God Bless and rock your day! Life is good!”

In the statement, Holopirek used an emoji after “not always easy” that shows a face gritting its teeth. After “Life is good!” she used an emoji of praying hands.

This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 11:17 AM.