The Kansas City sports media landscape soon will lose a former professional football player.
Sports Director Dani Welniak announced Sunday night she will be leaving KCTV (Ch. 5) on Friday. Welniak has not made public what she will do next.
“I pray I leave a legacy that made Kansas City sports and sports media a better place. Because it has blessed me and my family with so much,” Welniak wrote in a message to The Star.
Welniak started at KCTV in June 2016 after working at KWCH (Ch. 12) in Wichita. She became the Sports Director in August 2017. Before becoming a broadcaster, Welniak was a star receiver for the Dallas Diamonds of the Women’s Football Alliance.
That football pedigree served Welniak well during her time as a sideline reporter for the Chiefs Radio Network from 2016-’19.
Welniak also was part of the first all-women’s radio broadcast team for a NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision bowl game when she was a color analyst for the 2019 Cure Bowl. She also covered the Kansas men’s national basketball championship.
During her time in Wichita, Welniak covered the Royals’ trips to the World Series in 2014-15.
Welniak wrote a message on Twitter to announce her departure.
“I will share more on my next chapter in a few days. For right now, I want to take a moment to thank you, Kansas City,” Welniak wrote.
“I do this job for the people that watch me, the people I interview, the people I work alongside, and my family. Thank you to the people who took chances on me and allowed me to break barriers that no other woman has. Thank you to the fans who trusted me enough to watch me on TV or listen to me on the radio. Thank you to all the teams, coaches, players, equipment crews, communications staffs and other media member that helped me and embraced me. I’m not here without you! You’ve made me a better journalist, broadcaster, wife, mom and a person. If you know me, you’ve impacted me THANK YOU!
“God has opened and closed a lot of doors in my life. In the end, I realize that it’s because He always has something better in store. And it’s always better than I could have dreamed or imagined.
“Thank you, Kansas City! You are that blessing and so much more!”
From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete has done a little bit of everything since joining The Star in 1997.
