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Posted: 5:24 PM- It was 1976 when a "scared" 19-year-old intern named Michelle King landed a job at KSL Channel 5 and met anchor Dick Nourse.

"He was a very commanding presence, even then," she said. "But he was always nice to me."

Nearly three decades later, King, 50, will end her career on the same footing as her Channel 5 counterpart as one of Utah's most recognized news anchors.

King will announce during Sunday's 10 p.m. newscast that she is stepping down as the longtime anchor for No. 2-rated KUTV Channel 2. And she's leaving on Nov. 28 -- the same day Nourse, 64, is retiring from his long-held post at ratings leader KSL.

"It's a tough decision. I worked at KUTV for more than half of my life," said King, who was the first female anchor at KUTV and one of the first in Utah. "They've always said to me that, 'We want you to stay as long as you'll stay.' I've had fierce loyalty to them. I love this station, and I love being there, and I love who I work with. But I felt the time is right. There is a point where you have to decide."

With four children, two grandchildren and two more grandchildren on the way, King said being with her family in the evening for the first time in two decades is the biggest reason for her decision.

"For 23 of the 29 years I've been at KUTV, I've worked the evening shift," she said. "I'm looking forward to spending time at home with my family, maybe going to a movie on the weeknights, not being a hit-and-run mom at events."

King said it seems like almost yesterday that she was a fair, feathered-haired 21-year-old, fresh from Brigham Young University's broadcast journalism department (where she was homecoming queen) and a brief stint with United Press International (UPI) in New York City.

Her first job at KUTV was as a consumer affairs reporter, before she co-anchored the noon news.

"It was very scary because I didn't have a lot of experience. I had some hands-on experience at BYU," she said. "But I came right into the den of wolves. I would come home and cry at night. All in all, it worked out well, and I had to work my tail off to catch up."

And catch up she did. She says her most memorable stories included interviews with Gordon Hinckley, Laura and Barbara Bush, Robert Redford, and Gladys Knight about the R&B singer becoming a Mormon. One of the highlights of her career was covering the opening of the first Mormon temple in the former German Democratic Republic in 1985.

"You look back at all of those times, and I can't believe how quickly it's gone by," she said.

During stints as an anchor for the 5 and 10 p.m. news, she co-anchored with Randall Carlisle, Terry Wood and Patrick Greenlaw before ending her career with longtime co-anchor Mark Koelbel.

"They would tell me, "You can't keep a man except the one that counts,' " she said, laughing.

"Michelle is one of those people that is one of a kind," said KUTV news director Tanya Vea. "She has been in this market for her entire career, and in this business that's very extraordinary. She's certainly the face of our station in many ways."

Shauna Lake, 37, another longtime anchor for KUTV will take over for King on Nov. 29.

"I have big shoes to fill," Lake said. "Michelle has been there a long time and very much embraced by Utah. But I love a challenge and I'm excited for the opportunity to do that."

As for King, she said she's grateful for being invited into people's homes every night to deliver the news and looks forward to filling her future with family.

"I felt like I could be myself, and I had a lot of fun. I loved being in the know and being able to tell people. I feel like I was treated well, and I made some incredible, long-lasting friends," she said.

"As for life without KUTV?" she added. "I don't know what that's going to be like, but I know it will be good. There is life after television news."

(The Salt Lake Tribune has a news gathering relationship with KUTV Channel 2).

For years, KUTV has been the No. 2 Utah news station at 10 p.m., behind KSL, according to the Nielsen ratings.