Two Wichita news anchors, working for two different local news stations, announced their pending retirements last week.

During Eyewitness News at 5 p.m. Wednesday, KWCH-DT anchor Cindy Klose announced she plans to retire at the end of the May ratings period, also known as “sweeps,” on May 25. Klose has worked with KWCH since 1991, and has anchored several shows, including the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

About 12 hours later, a news release sent out to local media announced the retirement of Susan Peters from ABC-affiliate KAKE-TV. She is also scheduled to retire at the end of sweeps. Peters has worked for KAKE since 1995. Before that, she anchored the news in San Diego after an eight-year stint at KWCH from 1983 to 1991.

Their pending retirements mark the end of an era of television news in Wichita. During Peters’ time anchoring at KWCH, ratings for the station increased and the station became the dominant one in the market. Throughout Klose’s tenure, the station has continued to expand and remains the No. 1 source for TV news for a large part of Wichita.

Both have covered countless news stories over the years and have been a staple in TV news for the Wichita market. Once their retirements were announced, viewers of both stations made comments about the news, many of them expressing sadness at the thought of saying goodbye to people they watch on TV nightly. 

The loss of Klose and Peters at the same time is hard to digest. Times are continually changing in the news business and like with every change, both stations will have to adjust. Viewers, too, will have to adjust to seeing different faces while watching newscasts.

Both have certainly earned the right to sign off from the air one last time. The news business is a tough career, and with constant changes, journalists need to adapt. Klose and Peters certainly did so successfully.

Farewell, Cindy and Susan, you both have had a great ride. See you around.