Dan Needles, the sports director for WISN-TV Channel 12, will retire in March, after more than 30 years of covering Wisconsin sports.
“For a kid who grew up in Waukesha watching the news on WISN 12, I’ve been able to live out my dream by working here for more than three decades,” said Needles. “I have had the pleasure of working with so many true professionals who taught me what journalism is, and I thank the viewers who shared my passion for sports.”
Needles has received numerous awards during his career, including a 2017 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Wisconsin Silver Circle Award and the “Best Sportscast” award by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, along with several other honors presented by the Milwaukee Press Club and the Midwest Associated Press.
“When sports is the big story, and in Wisconsin it often is, southeastern Wisconsin has always been able to rely on Dan,” said Jan Wade, president and general manager of WISN 12. “For decades he’s provided our viewers with in-depth reporting, expert insight, and without a doubt, a lively sense of humor. He is an incredible vault of sports knowledge, more so than anyone I have ever seen, and his expertise and presence will be missed here at the station.”
Prior to joining WISN 12, Needles served as a weekend sports anchor and reporter at WAOW-TV in Wausau, sports director at WNBK-FM in New London, and as the sports and news director at WCFW-FM in Chippewa Falls.
WISN-TV Channel 12 is a media partner of BizTimes Milwaukee.
