Caroline Hecker

Reporter

Caroline Hecker joined the WIS team as a reporter in January 2018.

Prior to working in Columbia, Caroline worked for three years as weekend anchor/MMJ at WXOW in La Crosse, Wisconsin. While there, she covered a wide variety of stories including historic flooding, opioid abuse at the Tomah VA and multiple presidential candidate visits.

Caroline is a graduate of the University of Missouri where she earned a degree in broadcast journalism (Go Tigers!).

Having spent the last several years suffering through brutal Wisconsin winters, she’s looking forward to some warmer weather in the Palmetto State!

Have a story idea or just want to say hi? Shoot Caroline an email at checker@wistv.com.

Facebook: Caroline Hecker WIS

Twitter: @Checker_WIS

Recent Articles by Caroline

Proposal to tighten eligibility for SNAP benefits could hurt students in free school lunch programs, USDA analysis says

Nearly a million children nationwide automatically eligible for free school lunch programs could lose that eligibility. A new proposal aims to tighten eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly known as food stamps.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 17, 2019 at 7:21 PM

Midlands fifth graders take pledge as gun safety education makes its way into elementary schools

A group of fifth-graders across Richland School District One signed the dotted line on Wednesday, pledging to alert an adult if they find a gun and act as if it’s loaded.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 16, 2019 at 6:12 PM

Midlands WWII veteran set to celebrate 100th birthday reflects on D-Day invasion

After more than two decades in the Navy, Army and Air Force, Luther Godwin retired in 1966.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 15, 2019 at 6:48 PM

Columbia Police visited home 52 times this year ahead of recent deadly stabbing

The Columbia woman charged with fatally stabbing her 47-year-old live-in boyfriend was granted a $75,000 surety bond by a Richland County judge on Wednesday.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 9, 2019 at 7:40 PM

UofSC annual security report shows decrease in drug, alcohol arrests on campus

The data, compiled by the university’s Division of Law Enforcement and Safety, outlines statistics of crimes reported to campus law enforcement.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 9, 2019 at 3:54 PM

UofSC formal review imminent, several options on the table for accreditation agency

A formal review of the University of South Carolina’s handling of its most recent presidential search will be the subject of its accreditor’s December meeting.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 8, 2019 at 6:59 PM

Four years after historic flood, Wilton Road slated to be repaired in Springdale

Four years after catastrophic flooding left many Midlands neighborhoods under 20 inches of water and claimed the lives of 19 people, a road damaged by the flooding will be fixed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 7, 2019 at 7:17 PM

’Don’t take it away from us’: E-cigarette users say amid industry uproar

Health officials are reporting a 16th person has died from a vaping related illness, as more than 800 people have been reported hospitalized across the country.

Caroline Hecker

Published October 1, 2019 at 7:13 PM

Three months later, residents say Millwood Avenue HAWK signal is catching on

Three pedestrians had been killed in four years along Millwood Avenue before the signal was installed.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 30, 2019 at 6:47 PM

Gamecocks fans warn of alleged parking scam ahead of UofSC family weekend

After the UofSC and Alabama game, fans discovered their cars had been towed and the woman who collected their $20 when they arrived was nowhere to be found.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 26, 2019 at 5:26 PM

Report finds cell phone jamming technology works in prisons, SCDC seeks action from Congress

Cell-phone jamming would block phones inside the prison from communicating with nearby cell phone towers, making them useless.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 26, 2019 at 2:00 PM

A Midlands sixth-grader was forced to sit alone at lunch, school resource officer made sure it was the last time.

A Midlands sixth grader is praising the efforts of her school resource officer and using what she learned to brighten the spirits of her fellow classmates.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 25, 2019 at 6:25 PM

‘We have too many damn guns on the streets‘: Columbia Police to unveil ‘Gun Intelligence Unit’ designed to combat gun violence

The Columbia Police Department is one of a handful of law enforcement agencies nationwide to be awarded two federal grants to help combat rising gun violence within the city.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 24, 2019 at 11:16 PM

State prison officials expecting DOJ report this week detailing results of cellphone jamming technology

State prison officials are eagerly awaiting a Department of Justice report that will detail the results of an April test conducted at Broad River Correctional.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 23, 2019 at 7:30 PM

Chapin men coordinate, fly supplies to Bahamas following catastrophic Hurricane Dorian

Two Chapin men are working together to bring relief aid to the people of the Bahamas, two and a half weeks after Hurricane Dorian ravaged Grand Bahama and Great Abaco Island.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 18, 2019 at 6:57 PM

Seven years after a near fatal hit-and-run, no arrests made in Lindsay Bires case

Monday marks seven years since a former Columbia nurse and UofSC graduate was hit by a car while on her smoke break. Columbia Police have not made any arrests.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 16, 2019 at 7:16 PM

Lawsuit: Richland County School District One violated FOIA law at board meeting

A lawsuit filed earlier this month in Richland County alleges Richland County School District One violated the Freedom of Information Act law after taking action on an issue in executive session at an August board meeting.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 16, 2019 at 5:23 PM

Lawsuits: Two Orangeburg special needs students repeatedly sexually assaulted by special needs classmate

Two lawsuits filed against the Orangeburg Consolidated School District allege two special needs students were forced to perform sexual acts and raped multiple times by a fellow special needs classmate at Edisto High School earlier this year.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 13, 2019 at 7:49 PM

Warrants: Sumter double murder suspect used large folding knife to kill mother, missing daughter

Warrants released by the Sumter Police Department detail the horrific crime scene investigators found at the Lantana Apartments on August 5, when they discovered Sharee Bradley, 29, dead and her 5-year-old daughter, Navaeh Adams, missing.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 13, 2019 at 5:31 AM

SC for Ed partners with Hootie & The Blowfish, collects much needed school supplies

Officials have closed all lanes on Interstate 26 East after a vehicle caught fire on the roadway Thursday evening.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 12, 2019 at 7:17 PM

Lexington couple creates touching 9/11 tribute, garners attention from across the Midlands

The two large boulders that sit at the corner of Highway 378 and Keisler Road in Lexington are often painted, but their latest coat of paint is turning heads.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 11, 2019 at 6:50 PM

Developers clear first hurdle ahead of proposed Starbucks on Millwood Avenue

Millwood Avenue is one step closer to becoming the future home of a Starbucks franchise after the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception permit allowing a drive-thru in the development plan.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 10, 2019 at 6:27 PM

It’s national suicide awareness week. These inmates are looking out for those who feel hopeless.

The number of inmates who have committed suicide across the South Carolina state prison system is lower than its been in the last three years and officials are crediting a program begin expanded at Broad River Correctional Institution.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 9, 2019 at 7:57 PM

Pawleys Island officials cleaning up in wake of Hurricane Dorian

Because of the sand removal, the island is closed to full-time residents.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 6, 2019 at 9:12 PM

Myrtle Beach tourist soaking in final days of sunshine ahead of Dorian

Several hundred beachgoers decided to forgo Governor Henry McMaster’s mandatory evacuation orders and soak up some sunshine on Tuesday, just 48 hours before Hurricane Dorian is forecast to brush past the South Carolina coast.

Caroline Hecker

Published September 3, 2019 at 6:56 PM

Lexington County woman sentenced to decades in prison for deadly DUI crash

A judge sentenced a Lexington County woman to 21 years behind bars for a DUI crash that killed a motorcyclist on Easter Sunday of 2017.

Caroline Hecker

Published August 30, 2019 at 8:07 PM

‘Academy of Hope’ inspires SCDC’s ‘worst of the worst’ in wake of 2018 deadly riot

A new state prison program aims to combat violence and inspire the system’s most powerful and influential inmates a year after a deadly prison riot at Lee Correctional Institution left seven inmates dead and nearly two dozen others injured.

Caroline Hecker

Published August 29, 2019 at 6:45 PM

Jury finds Lexington man guilty in fatal stabbing in 2014, sentenced to 30 years

A jury has found a Lexington man guilty of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Dutch Fork student in 2014.

Jazmine Greene and Caroline Hecker

Published August 27, 2019 at 6:54 PM

‘I thought he threw a punch’: Former students continue testimony in Lexington 2014 fatal stabbing trial

Testimony continued into its third day as a Lexington County jury is tasked with deciding whether a fatal stabbing of a Dutch Fork High School student in 2014 was done in self-defense.

Caroline Hecker

Published August 22, 2019 at 6:45 PM

Former Dutch Fork students take the stand in 2014 fatal stabbing of classmate

Friends of DaVon Capers testified on behalf of their late friend Wednesday afternoon, as the man accused of fatally stabbing their friend is retried for his murder.

Caroline Hecker

Published August 21, 2019 at 6:32 PM

Currently in
Columbia, SC

Caroline Hecker

Reporter

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