KMSP, Channel 9, is getting a national star. Heidi Collins, a CNN anchor and correspondent for eight years, will join the Fox affiliate in mid-October, co-anchoring the 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. news with Jeff Passolt. She replaces Robyne Robinson, who left in May.

Collins grew up in the Twin Cities and graduated from Mounds View High School. The move home was triggered by family issues, including the death of her father-in-law, but Collins, who has two kids, ages 9 and 2, said she's thrilled to be back covering a community: "When you're on the national level, you really can't talk to people about things that resonate with everybody, like how freezing cold it is in Duluth or about the Vikings."

NEAL JUSTIN