ABOUT LOU RAGUSE
Lou Raguse is an experienced, award-winning reporter for KARE 11 News in Minneapolis.
Growing up in Wheaton, Minn., Lou’s love for current events was fostered through a Jeopardy-style game called “Current Events Challenge.” Social Studies teacher Russ Armstrong would give extra-credit points to students who read the newspaper and scored highest in the game. Also at Wheaton High School, Lou and his friends wrote the school newspaper “The War Whoop,” developing a flair for journalism.
That led Lou to the University of Minnesota’s journalism program. His senior year, Lou won the national William Randolph Hearst championship in San Francisco — establishing his place early-on as a national-level storyteller.
Lou spent three years at KELO in Sioux Falls, S.D., reporting on stories such as the state’s first execution in 60 years — a year after it was dramatically halted at the 11th hour. As the cops and courts beat reporter, he covered trials such as Daphne Wright’s killing and dismembering of a fellow member of the deaf community. Pay attention and you might catch Lou talking about the case on various national cable crime shows.
From Sioux Falls, Lou moved to the Sonoran Desert in Tucson, Ariz., along with his wife Emily, also a reporter. In Tucson, Lou helped launch FOX 11 News at Nine, anchoring the newscast for four years. Along the way, he covered the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, along with many hot-button border issues.
After moving to Buffalo, reporting and anchoring weekends for WIVB, Lou continued to compile awards for his work — through New York State Associated Press, NY Broadcasters Association, and NY Emmys.
But his finest awards came in 2013, when Lou and Emily welcomed home their little Buffalo baby Violet, and in 2016 when her little brother Westley was born.
In 2015 the family moved to Minneapolis where Lou reports at KARE 11, home of the finest storytelling journalism in the country.
At KARE 11, Lou has been at the forefront of some of the nation’s biggest stories, leading the coverage of the death of George Floyd and the trials for the officers charged with killing him.
One particular story that resonated was the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs and her subsequent escape after 88 days in captivity. After covering the criminal case that followed, Lou produced an eight-episode podcast, “88 Days: The Jayme Closs Story,” which peaked in the top 10 on the iTunes Charts.
In Feb. 2023, Lou’s first true crime book was published by Post Hill Press. “Vanished in Vermillion” flips the script on the genre and reveals all the ways the 40-year search for two missing teenage girls went horribly wrong.
While free time is harder to come by with a little one in the house, Lou still enjoys playing Tecmo Super Bowl on NES, competing in fantasy football leagues (including one since 1999), watching NFL football, and archiving home movies and photos from the good old days.
Additional Information...
EDUCATION
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, May 2005
JOB EXPERIENCE
- KARE-TV (NBC), Minneapolis, MN (2015 – Present)
Reporter
- Provide lead stories on a daily basis
- Member of the I-Team, providing long-form investigations in and out of ratings periods
2. WIVB-TV (CBS), Buffalo, NY (2012 – 2015)
Anchor/Reporter
- Solo anchor weekend evening newscasts
- Report daily-turn stories and long-form investigations
- Active in utilizing social networking tools to drive viewers to newscast
3. KMSB-TV (FOX), Tucson, AZ (2008 – 2012)
Anchor/Reporter
- Solo anchor one-hour 9pm newscast
- Helped FOX station launch its first Tucson newscast
- Produce and host several weekly interview segments
4. KELO-TV (CBS), Sioux Falls, S.D. (2005 – 2008)
Anchor/Reporter
- Produce and anchor weekend newscasts
- Cops & courts beat reporter, winning regional Emmy in 2008
- Reported long-format investigations and features twice monthly
- First reporter to blog on keloland.com
AWARDS
- 2021: Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: Health/Medical News (Single Shift)
- 2021: Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Crime (Single Shift)
- 2021: Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Crime (Long-Form Content)
- 2021: Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Daily News Report (Single Shift)
- 2020: Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: Serious Feature News Report
- 2020: Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Crime
- 2020 Edward R. Murrow Regional Award: Podcast
- 2020 Edward R. Murrow Regional Award: Continuing Coverage
- 2019 Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: General Assignment Report – No Time Limit
- 2019 Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: Continuing Coverage
- 2019 Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Investigative Report – Single Story
- 2019 Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Crime – News Single Story
- 2019 Upper Midwest Emmy Nominee: Light Feature News Report
- 2018 Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: Reporter – General Assignment
- 2018 Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: General Assignment Report (No Time Limit)
- 2018 Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: Crime
- 2018 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: General Assignment Report (Within 24 Hours)
- 2017 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: Reporter – General Assignment
- 2017 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: General Assignment Report (No Time Limit)
- 2017 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: Crime
- 2017 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: Military
- 2016 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: Continuing Coverage
- 2016 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: Politics/Government
- 2016 Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination: Reporter – General Assignment
- 2014 NY Emmy Nomination: On-Camera Talent: Reporter – General Assignment
- 2014 NY Emmy Nomination: Feature News Report: Serious
- 2014 NY Emmy Nomination: Health/Science: News
- 2014 NY Associated Press: Best Sports Coverage
- 2014 NY Associated Press: Best Enterprise Reporting (Special Mention)
- 2014 NY Emmy Nomination: Societal Concerns
- 2014 NY Emmy Nomination: Children/Youth Programming
- 2014 Medaille College: Excellence in Television News Reporting
- 2013 NY Broadcasters Association: Outstanding Hard News Story
- 2013 NY Associated Press: General Excellence of Individual Reporting
- 2013 NY Associated Press: Best Continuing News Coverage
- 2013 NY Associated Press: Best Enterprise Reporting
- 2013 NY Associated Press: Best Continuing News Coverage
- 2013 NY Associated Press: Best News Series
- 2013 Dunkirk Resource Center: Community in Action Award
- 2013 NY Emmy Nomination: Hard News Series
- 2009 South Dakota Associated Press: Investigative Enterprise (Special Mention)
- 2008 Upper Midwest Emmy Winner: Continuing Coverage
- 2007 South Dakota Associated Press: Best Writing
- 2007 Minnesota Associated Press: Best Feature
- 2007 Minnesota Associated Press: Best Writing (Special Mention)
- 2005 SPJ Mark of Excellence, National: Sports Photography
- 2005 SPJ Mark of Excellence, Region 6: Sports Photography
- 2005 SPJ Mark of Excellence, Region 6: Feature (3rd place)
- 2005 SPJ Mark of Excellence, Region 6: General News Reporting (2nd place)
- 2005 SPC Mark of Excellence, Region 6: Sports Reporting (3rd place)
- 2005 William Randolph Hearst Championship: 1st Place
- 2005 Northwest Broadcast News Association: Best Feature
- 2004 William Randolph Hearst: 2nd Place Features Contest