Beloved Illinois TV Anchor From Wisconsin Retiring After 42 Years

ROCKFORD, IL — After more than four decades on air, WIFR’s Andy Gannon is signing off. The veteran news and sports anchor, a fixture in Rockford television since 1983 and a Wisconsin native, will retire after his final newscast on Aug. 1.

Gannon began his career at WIFR as a weekend sports anchor before moving into the role of sports director. In the mid-1990s, he transitioned to the morning anchor desk, where he’s remained ever since.

"This has literally been the job of my lifetime," Gannon said in a statement shared by WIFR. "I started at WIFR nine months after graduating from college. I have been here ever since."

The station plans to celebrate Gannon’s long career over the next several weeks.

In a big shift, longtime evening anchor Mike Garrigan will step into Gannon’s morning role beginning Aug. 1. Garrigan, who also hails from Wisconsin, joined WIFR in the early 2000s.

"The last newscast I watched as a single man, before getting married in 1993 at Old Stone Church in Rockton, was with Andy," Garrigan said.

"A decade later, when I started at WIFR, Andy was already entrenched as Rockford’s true TV personality. And now to replace Andy on the morning show 22 years later is an honor and something I don’t take lightly."

Gannon, a Brown Deer native and University of Wisconsin-Madison grad, is a lifelong Packers fan and former manager for the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team.

"The Rockford area has and continues to be good to me," he said. "Hopefully, I’ve been good to it."

Garrigan will join Aaron Wilson and Maggie Polsean on WIFR News This Morning, First Edition, and The Blend.

"I have so enjoyed my 22 years working with so many wonderful people and making so many lasting memories nightside in Rockford, but anyone who’s lived in the stateline as long as I have knows WIFR News This Morning has been the pinnacle of Rockford news programs," Garrigan said.

"I’m excited to work with the extremely talented Aaron Wilson, the king of the live shot, and with my old nightside cohort Maggie Polsean."