Kara Kostanich

Kara Kostanich comes to the Sunshine State from the Pacific Northwest.  She joined CBS 12 in February 2008. She anchors the weekend edition of Good Morning South Florida and works as a general assignment reporter.

Previously, Kara was a reporter at KREM-TV in Spokane, Washington.  She started her career as an anchor and reporter at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee. 

Kara has been on the front lines of massive western wildfires and deadly tornados. Now she is gearing up for hurricane duty in Florida.

Among her varied assignments, she has covered three national political conventions and reported from Ground Zero on the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

After the fatal tsunami struck South Asia in 2005, Kara traveled to Banda Aceh, Indonesia to chronicle the work of a group of Tennesseans determined to help those who lost everything. The Tennessee Associated Press honored Kara for her series on their mission. 

In 2006 Kara broke the story about a Tennessee preacher fatally shot by his wife.  The story captured national headlines for more than a year.  She also exposed a sex offender illegally operating a day care center.  

Outside of work, Kara has an insatiable love for adventure.  She has traveled across six continents, visiting more than 40 countries.  In 2001, she spent seven months on what she fondly calls an “Around the World Adventure” where she trekked to the far corners of Asia, Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand.  The trip taught her the value of freedom of information, an experience that ultimately inspired her to become a journalist.

Kara is from Chehalis, Washington, a community of 7,000 nestled between Seattle and Portland. Kara loves the outdoors and enjoys skiing when she is back home in Washington State. She loves biking, SCUBA diving and sailing.  

She graduated cum laude from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island and earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from American University in Washington, DC.  She has studied abroad in Belgium and Chile. 

If you have a story idea, please email Kara at: kkostanich@cbs12.com