Former anchor on News 19 Melissa Riopka lost her fight with acute myeloid leukemia on Saturday. Her age was 48.
Riopka was raised in Cullman and worked as an intern at News 19 in 1995 while pursuing her studies at the University of Alabama. Riopka decided to go to Huntsville after working at stations in Birmingham and Chattanooga.
She went back to work for News 19 in 2013 as a morning reporter, spending two years there alongside meteorologist Ben Smith and anchors Steve Johnson and Michelle Stark.
She was promoted to co-host the daily newscasts at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. with veteran News 19 anchor Jerry Hayes after serving in that capacity for two years. After that, she worked on morning newscasts for four and a half years alongside Steve Johnson, another legendary member of News 19.
In addition, Riopka was a fantastic community partner, lending support to numerous organizations such as Make-A-Wish and the Better Business Bureau. More than that, over her tenure at WHNT, she became close friends with a large number of her coworkers.
Riopka left News 19 in March 2022, but the people who had the good fortune to work with and get to know her will always remember her influence at the station.
Her spouse and her two kids survive Riopka. The family and friends of Riopka are in News 19’s thoughts and prayers.
