Lance began his broadcasting career as a freshman in high school, spinning records at his hometown radio station in Kimball, Neb.

Once he started college he got a taste of the TV bug and hasn't looked back.

He has worked as a reporter, weathercaster or anchor at stations in Sterling, Colo., Grand Junction, Colo. and Corpus Christi, Texas.

He says working in Denver was a longtime goal.

Lance has covered many memorable stories for 7NEWS, from the crash of Continental Flight 1713 to the infamous Amendment 2; from Denver's trio of tornados in 1988 to the big Holly tornado in 2007.

"I was there when C-DOT began blasting away the first bridge for the expansion of I-25," Lance said. "And I spent a night on the floor at Denver International Airport after getting stranded while covering the Blizzard of '06."

Lance says there have been a few fun stories along the way.

"I jumped into a freezing Boulder Reservoir and became a member of the Polar Bear Club."

He says his most memorable story is Willie the Whale. Willie was a frozen carnival attraction kept in a plexiglass-sided semitrailer near Burlington, Colo. When Willie's owners passed away, the electricity was shut off and Willie started to decay. That's when some high school students apparently scooped up part of the whale and tossed the rotting blubber into the ceiling tile at school.

"The principal was not happy," he said.

"That's the best part of the TV news business," Lance said. "Every day there is something new."

EXPERIENCE:

1984 KMGH 7NEWS
Denver
Reporter

1983 KIII-TV
Corpus Christi, Texas
Weather Anchor/Reporter

1981 KREX-TV
Grand Junction, Colorado
News/Weather Anchor

1980 KTVS-TV
Sterling, Colorado
Anchor/News Director

EDUCATION:
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, Neb.
B.A. Broadcast Journalism

"I feel fortunate to live and work in Colorado, covering the growth issues facing our state. It's exciting to be in the middle of it all."

Send e-mail to Lance Hernandez