Rating:

5.0 (8 votes)

Fred has been the Chief Weather Forecaster at KRTV for over 14 years, overseeing the weather operations, and appearing Monday through Friday during the 5:30 and 10 pm newscasts.

Aside from watching and preparing weather for broadcast, his favorite part of the job is the friendly viewers who he bumps into in the community. He goes out of his way to stop and meet them and talk about the weather. It is also very rewarding when young viewers, who are still in school, recognize him and want to stop and visit, proving they watch the news with their parents and are staying in touch with the world around them.

Fred loves getting out in the community, talking about weather before school classes, civic groups and other organizations. He takes our changing weather very seriously, providing a direct source for so many viewers who depend on our reports to help them prepare for the ever-changing Montana weather patterns.

His love for Great Falls is because this is home. Fred was born in Great Falls, raised in Cut Bank, and his family then moved back to Great Falls when he began his sophomore year in high school. He was a member of the first graduating class of C.M. Russell High school in 1966.

An avid camper, Fred loves spending weekends outdoors with his wife, normally above Wolf Creek on a small plot of land. Montana's clear skies offer the most brilliant look at the stars and planets he has ever seen. Glacier Park and its spectacular beauty has always been a wonderful day trip since he was a youngster as well.

As a lifetime broadcaster, Fred has had opportunities to cover many aspects of both news and weather, including time as a news and sports anchor. Choosing a favorite story is difficult, but the most recent program will be very tough to top. After 7 years of promising Fred an interview, David Letterman invited him to his offices in New York City in March of 2008 where Fred interviewed the late night host for 30 minutes. Fred and his wife were also guests at the taping of a show the next day. Letterman has a home in Choteau and confirmed he watches Fred's weather when in Montana. Yes he did talk about the 300 pound black bear that broke into his home and stayed for several hours!

Following CBS's Steve Hartman for two days for his "Everybody Has a Story" segment in Ekalaka, Montana is at the top of the list as well. The coverage earned him an E.B. Craney Award from the Montana Broadcasters Association for News Enterprise reporting.

Another memorable story was a 30 minute program with "Jungle Jack" Hanna and his wife Suzi at their Big Fork, Montana home in the summer of 2006. Earlier in his radio career Fred was invited to the White House and interviewed President Jimmy Carter while he was in office.

Fred invited CBS's Steve Hartman to Great Falls in the spring of 2009 when resident 112 year old Walter Breuning became the oldest living man in the USA. Hartman covered Walter during his "Assignment America" series for the CBS Evening News. On July 18, 2009, Breuning became the oldest man in the world, and Fred was the first to interview Walter.

Fred and his wife together have 7 grandchildren. He attended Montana State University in Bozeman as well as Casper Community College in Wyoming and Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas. He is an Extra Class Ham Radio operator and loves talking to other operators around the world and learning about their culture.

Among his favorites movies are "Forest Gump," "Shawshank Redemption" and "Silence of the Lambs." When he is hungry he loves a Montana beef steak or about any variety of pizza. In fact he likes pizza so much, he makes his own from scratch!

Click here to see Fred's own web site.

And be sure to follow Fred on Twitter @MTWeatherMaker!

You can email him at fred@krtv.com.