Missouri station names Texas forecaster to replace longtime chief met Ron Hearst

Brett Anthony has left CBS affiliate KYTX in Tyler, Texas, to become chief meteorologist at KYTV in Springfield, Missouri.

Anthony will officially join the Gray Media-owned station’s First Alert Weather team Oct. 1, 2026, and make his on-air debut the following week. He succeeds longtime chief meteorologist Ron Hearst, who is retiring after 38 years with the station.

Anthony had served as chief meteorologist at KYTX, branded as CBS19, since December 2020.

“We were lucky to find someone as experienced with severe weather as Brett,” said KYTV News Director Bridget Lovelle. “He is a perfect fit for the Ozarks, having lived here and with so many family and friends already in the area.”

Lovelle also confirmed meteorologist Brandon Beck will remain on the station’s morning newscasts. KYTV’s weather team will have five meteorologists following Anthony’s arrival. The station is known on-air as “KY3.”

The move brings Anthony back to a region where he has personal and professional ties. He previously worked in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and met his wife, Sherri, in Springfield.

“Springfield has always held a special place in my heart,” Anthony said. “I met my wife, Sherri, there, and we have family spread across the Ozarks and Missouri.”

Before moving to East Texas, Anthony served as chief meteorologist at KJRH in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He previously spent 11 years at KSHB in Kansas City, Missouri, and worked at stations in Cape Girardeau and Cleveland, Ohio, including an early role as a weekend meteorologist at WOIO and WUAB.

Advertisement

Anthony earned a bachelor’s degree in radio-TV from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1987 and later studied meteorology at Western Kentucky University from 1995 to 1997.

He holds the American Meteorological Society’s Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation and has received two regional Emmy Awards for weather coverage and special projects.

News of Anthony’s move was reported by Mike McGuff and KYTV.