Justin Kollar joined the CBS4 News team in April of 2021 as a reporter. He was promoted to the role of CBS4 This Morning traffic anchor in 2022.
Born and raised in west Michigan, Justin previously worked for Nexstar affiliate WOOD-TV8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, Kollar covered news and events along the Lake Michigan shoreline. During his time reporting he made a name for himself providing vital information during the collapse of the Edenville Dam, heartbreaking riots engulfing the city streets of Grand Rapids and the threat of rising waters on the banks of the Great Lakes. This work earned Kollar his first Emmy nominations and appearances on national TV.
It was through his hours-long live coverage of the riots following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in the summer of 2020 that Kollar won an Edward R. Murrow Award for his journalistic service to the community, keeping viewers informed throughout the panic.
Kollar credits his preparation, in part, from experiences gained while working towards his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri in the spring of 2018. Before graduation, Kollar worked for Columbia, Missouri’s KOMU-TV, where he helped shed light on former Gov. Eric Greitens’s sudden resignation, the removal and relocation of Confederate monuments and large-scale sporting events including the Texas Bowl in 2017.
Before attending the Missouri School of Journalism, Kollar studied at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, where he got his first on-air experience, hosting a talk radio show on Shine.FM. He is also a proud graduate of Western Michigan Christian High School and is an Eagle Scout.
As a teenager, Kollar first put his passion for journalism into practice after knocking on the door of his hometown newspaper looking for a job. The White Lake Beacon quickly put him to work, when the editor told him to, “grab a camera and get to work!”
When he’s not at work you can catch Kollar signing up for a local 5k, going on hikes throughout Central Indiana with his wife, working on his pop-up trailer or barking for the Cleveland Browns during football season. A fun fact about Justin: He loves to fish and has been awarded the Michigan Master Angler award the last four years running.
To get a hold of him, please reach out via email at jkollar@fox59.com, Facebook or Twitter.
