Caroline Hecker
Reporter
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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
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A deadly shooting in 2017 at a nightclub called the Black Pearl turned life upside down for everyone involved. That shooting led to the closure of the business, but the owner said he was shut down unjustly.
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A North Columbia man is asking for help identifying a man caught using his front porch as a bathroom earlier this week.
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A former South Carolina Department of Corrections officer will spend the next seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law last Friday.
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The Columbia Housing Authority is facing $11,000 in fines after pleading guilty to 24 code related citations in city court on Wednesday.
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It’s been nearly a week since Faye Swetlik, 6, was reported missing after being last seen playing in her front yard Monday afternoon.
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Law enforcement says it ‘can’t comment’ on whether family of missing 6-year-old face polygraph tests
The Cayce Department of Public Safety said it will now hold daily press briefings to update the public about the status of the investigation and search into a missing child.
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The West Columbia river walk is closed for the fourth day in a row, as water from the Congaree River swallows much of the walking trail south of the Gervais Street bridge.
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Days after WIS brought you a story about an unpaved sidewalk causing North Columbia business owners both headaches and profit, the sidewalk is being repaved as part of the Richland County Penny Tax program.
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The demolition of the North Central High School football stadium began on Monday, as the school district’s superintendent vows to hold graduation on the field for the class of 2020.
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Attorneys for white supremacist Dylann Roof argue he was mentally ill when he represented himself at his capital trial for the 2015 murders of nine black parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
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State agencies involved in the months-long search for missing 5-year-old Nevaeh Adams spent more than $700,000 in an effort to bring the little girl home.
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New public filings from the state’s utility watchdog allege Blue Granite Water Company wants to use ratepayer money to pay for non-business related expenses.
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It was shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday when shots rang out inside Macs Lounge in Hartsville, sending bar patrons running for their lives.
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A North Columbia business said an unfinished Richland County Penny Tax project is deterring customers from frequenting their business.
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A municipal court date for the Columbia Housing Authority to respond to 22 maintenance citations issued at the Allen Benedict Court property is being pushed back.
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Stunning surveillance video released late last week shows the moment an EF2 tornado ripped through North Central High School in Kershaw County.
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A week after an EF2 tornado left millions of dollars in damage and a trail of destruction, students of North Central High School are adjusting to their new classrooms.
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The Columbia Housing Authority has several new leaders at the helm one year after two men died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside their Allen Benedict Court apartments.
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After months of investigating who was to blame for the deaths of two men due to carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said no criminal charges would be filed.
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Damage estimates ‘well into the millions’ as tornado clean up continues at North Central High School
Multiple agencies continue clean-up efforts in and around North Central High School, more than three days after an EF2 tornado ripped through the school’s campus.
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Students saddened by loss, unanswered questions after tornado rips through North Central High School
Seniors are left with many unanswered questions as they wait to find out where graduation will take place.
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Nearly four months ago, a Chapin man was killed and his wife was severely injured when the pontoon the family was riding on was struck by another boater.
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The Florida man accused of killing a Florence Regional Airport officer on Sunday was released from prison in 2017 after serving 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.
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In the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2019, five people were injured after Richland County deputies say someone started shooting inside Faces Lounge on Decker Boulevard.
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A Lexington woman who was critically injured by an impaired driver in 2018 is urging New Year’s Eve partygoers to take advantage of sober rides home.
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The Midlands saw three high-profile murder trials over a span of eight months in 2019.
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The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the 2006 murder conviction of a Chesterfield County man.
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A Lexington boy said he is extra thankful this holiday season after befriending his neighborhood FedEx delivery driver over their shared love of basketball.
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The rush to cross items off the Christmas lists of loved ones is on, as shoppers have one day left to get everything they need.
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A Columbia serviceman will spend the holidays with his family after returning from an 11-month deployment in Iraq and surprising his children upon his arrival.
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The global mattress company is investing close to $50 million as it takes over a factory that has sat empty for nine years.
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The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate a triple homicide at Woodland Village apartments on Tuesday.
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The Sumter Police Department has investigated nine homicides so far in 2019, more than double the number of killings the department saw last year.
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The 11-page audit found 10 findings of alleged misspending including $71,275 that was spent on audits that did not directly benefit a specific transportation project.
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Greg Leon is accused of killing his wife’s lover on Valentine's Day in 2016.
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Five police officers have been killed in the last six days, bringing the total number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty to 117 this year.
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A utility watchdog group published a report Tuesday, which claims some of the nation’s biggest utility companies are using charitable donations for political gains.
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Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley took to Twitter over the weekend to defend comments made during an interview about the Confederate flag being removed from the statehouse grounds.
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Organizations are required to submit financial reports to the state every year, allowing it to keep tabs on how it spends donor money.
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The Saluda High School Tigers have their eyes set on something that hasn’t been accomplished in 56 years, but the team’s seniors believe this year’s team has what it takes to win it all.
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The district calls it a last resort for students with more than $50 of debt.
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The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle Campaign kicked off this week, offering a new way for people to donate if they don’t have any spare change or cash.
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As family and friends gather for Thanksgiving this holiday season, two Midlands men are particularly thankful, after coming face-to-face with death in 2019.
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The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs has filed a petition in response to a proposal from Blue Granite Water Company asking for a rate increase of up to 56 percent for its customers.
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More than 134,000 cars every day travel what’s commonly referred to as “malfunction junction,” one of the largest interchanges in the Midlands.
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After three days of testimony, prosecutors rested their case against the Lexington County man accused of brutally killing his estranged wife mere weeks before their divorce was set to be finalized.
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A Lexington County jury heard its second full day of expert and witness testimony on Tuesday, as it tries to decide whether a Lexington County man brutally killed his wife less than a month before their divorce was set to be finalized.
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A Lexington County jury began hearing testimony Monday morning in a brutal domestic violence killing that took place in 2017, claiming the life of an IT employee of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
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Drivers who use Interstate 20 East in Lexington County will encounter major lane changes beginning this weekend, as the South Carolina Department of Transportation begins work on the next phase of its I-20 widening project.
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A group of nearly two dozen Sumter School District bus drivers has not returned to their routes one week after striking over low wages and poor working conditions.