New CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil will broadcast from Minneapolis next week

Tony Dokoupil, the newly minted anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” will report from Minneapolis on Jan. 13, part of a high-profile road tour aimed at reshaping the broadcast’s battered image.

Mayor Jacob Frey’s office confirmed that the mayor will be interviewed live during the broadcast.

“We’re very honored to be asked,” said Frey’s director of communications Ally Peters, who was told by producers that they want to focus on the city’s “comeback” and the mayor’s Climate Legacy Initiative, which takes money from utility fee increases and directs it toward ways to reduce Minnesotans’ contributions to climate change.

The tour, which is being overseen by recently installed editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, hits 10 cities, including Dallas, Chicago and Pittsburgh. All but Cincinnati are markets where CBS has owned and operated stations.

“Tony’s superpower is listening to people,” “CBS Evening News” executive producer Kim Harvey said in a news release. “We want to serve Americans in the best way possible by meeting them where they are every night — and we’ll do that with this cross-country kick-off tour."

Harvey and her colleagues are hoping to finally get CBS’ nightly broadcast out of third place, where it has languished since the early ’90s. Past attempts to tinker with its format have not done the trick.

Less than a year ago, CBS moved to the two-anchor team of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. Both departed the network shortly after Weiss took over.

The Independent has reported that Weiss had plans to join at least part of the “Live From America” tour with bodyguards on a chartered plane, stoking dissent in a news division that has endured significant layoffs. It was unknown whether she would be joining the team in Minneapolis.

Details about shooting locations and possible stories were unclear as several attempts to reach CBS and WCCO, its local affiliate, were unsuccessful.

Dokoupil, 45, has generated some headlines of his own since he was selected to replace Dickerson and DuBois. Late last week, he posted a video that seemed to skewer his predecessors for relying too heavily on academics and elites and not enough on average Americans.

“Here’s my promise to you,” he said. “You come first. Not advertisers, not politicians, not corporate interests, and yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS.”

The two broadcasts with Dokoupil in the chair have still leaned heavily on authoritative views. In his Jan. 2 launch from San Francisco, three segments were dedicated to an interview with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

At one point, Dokoupil got confused on whether he was teeing up a story on a possible military demotion for Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly or one on Gov. Tim Walz ending his re-election campaign.

“First day, big problems here,” a clearly flummoxed Dokoupil said following a few seconds of awkward silence.

The Walz report was filed by Jonah Kaplan, who was based in Florida, which meant that his interview with U.S. Rep. Angie Craig was conducted via video.

In 2006, then CBS President Leslie Moonves vowed to get rid of the “Voice of God” approach and boasted of a breezier, more accessible one with Katie Couric. She lasted five years.

Top news personalities often broadcast from the road in response to significant stories and special events.

If Dokoupil and his team want to get better acquainted with Minnesota during their short time here, Meet Minneapolis has some suggestions.