GRAND RAPIDS, Mich (WOOD) — For nearly half a century, Ken Kolker has pursued stories with the conviction that journalism could do more than document events. At its best, he believed, it could change lives.
“You’ve been in the news business for 47 years. It sort of becomes who you are; it becomes part of your identity,” he said.
Retiring Tuesday, he is reaching the end of an uncommon career that stretched from small-town radio to newspaper reporting and ultimately to investigative television journalism. Along the way, Kolker earned a reputation as one of Michigan’s most accomplished reporters, building trust with victims, and producing investigations that altered public policy…