Michael Konopasek

Anchor / Reporter

Michael Konopasek is an anchor and reporter at FOX31 Denver and Colorado’s Own Channel 2 News. He anchors Daybreak on Sunday mornings from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and reports weekday afternoons and evenings.

He is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who arrived in Denver in August of 2016. Before calling Denver home, Michael was a reporter at NBC affiliate KING-TV in Seattle and CBS affiliate KWTV-TV in Oklahoma City.

Michael’s work as a journalist has affected change in people’s lives. While in Colorado, his reporting prompted state leaders to commit to a public dialogue on establishing best practices for AMBER Alerts following a delayed alert in 2017.

In the same year, the Denver Police Department credited Michael for bringing the Safe Place program to its attention. His coverage of the anti-hate crime initiative in Seattle led to the adoption of a Safe Place program in Denver.

He has covered news that has attracted national and international attention, including his gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Taylor Swift sex assault trial in 2017 and what was Washington state’s largest wildfire in 2014.

Michael also served as a TEGNA correspondent— reporting for television stations across the country— during the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in Roseburg, Oregon.

Michael was part of Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage of the 2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting near Seattle. A year earlier, he reported live from the heart of the deadly Moore, Oklahoma tornado destruction path moments after the EF5 twister devastated the area.

His coverage of the tragedy was honored with a regional Emmy Award in 2014. Michael was awarded a second Emmy Award in 2018 for his coverage of a deadly ambush of sheriff’s deputies in suburban Denver.

In his free time, Michael volunteers with Healthy Learning Paths— a nonprofit organization that provides affordable health education for children across Colorado. He emcees the group’s annual “Race 4Kids’ Health” in Broomfield.

Michael is originally from the Northwest Indiana suburbs of Chicago and is a former Chicago double-decker bus tour guide.

He is a proud graduate of Ball State University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications and a minor in political science. While studying at Ball State, Michael served as an intern for the United States Congress and Chicago’s ABC-owned WLS-TV.

He loves cycling, history, politics and traveling. His journeys– for both work and pleasure– have taken him to all 50 states and several countries.

In 2018, Michael was part of a journalism fellowship allowing him to report from the Korean Demilitarized Zone amid international efforts to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons.

Recent Articles

  • Hikers capture video of paraglider falling toward ground, call 911

    JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A paraglider fell from the sky near Golden Wednesday afternoon. The 45-year-old paragliding pilot survived the crash but was injured. Kent Kovack, who witnessed the terrifying moments, talked with FOX31 Wednesday evening. Kovack, his wife and daughter were hiking the Hogback when they saw the man fall near Green Mountain off C-470 and West Alameda Parkway. “My daughter heard him yelling, like, ‘Woo hoo,’” Kovack said. Initially, Kovack said he thought the fall was an impressive […]

  • Colorado mosques increase security indefinitely following New Zealand attack

    DENVER — Mosques across Colorado are increasing security indefinitely following a terror attack targeting Muslims in New Zealand. Muslim leaders say threats are common and they can’t take any chances. Outside the largest mosque in Colorado, Masjid Abu Bakr off South Parker Road, there’s increased law enforcement and private security. Half a world away, what happened in Christchurch has led to worry and anxiety for Colorado Muslims. “If something happens to one, it happens to all of us,” said Iman […]

  • Challengers attack Hancock as Denver mayor race heats up

    DENVER – Voters in the Mile High City are just seven weeks away from an election to determine the next mayor of Colorado’s largest city. Mayor Michael Hancock, who has led Denver for eight years, is hoping for a third term. Challengers have been lining up in hopes of ensuring that won’t happen. The candidates faced off during a forum on the Auraria campus Monday. Four people vying to unseat Hancock went on the attack– putting the incumbent in defensive […]

  • Tivoli partners with MSU Denver to can craft beer

    DENVER — A new program for college students is changing the way shoppers will get their favorite Tivoli brews. The historic brewery on the Auraria campus is strengthening its partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver— benefiting students and beer lovers across Colorado. In one month’s time, thousands of cans have been filled at the Tivoli Brewery inside the Tivoli Student Union. “We typically lay down a small amount of foam at the bottom of the can so that when […]

  • CDOT explains mitigation work amid recent avalanches

    DENVER — Colorado remains on avalanche alert after some recent close calls on highways in the High Country. At least three slides have impacted areas along I-70 in the past two days. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) says March is typically an active month for avalanche mitigation work. “We do this many times a year, particularly this winter,” said CDOT spokeswoman Tamara Rollison. “This has been a very heavy-snow winter up in the mountains.” CDOT says it is constantly […]

  • Thousands climb Republic Plaza to fight lung disease

    DENVER — Thousands of Coloradans and people from across the country raced up 56 floors for a good cause on Sunday. The event, Fight For Air Climb, is billed as Colorado’s biggest stair climb and benefits those who suffer from lung disease. Families and First Responders joined forces for the special event at Republic Plaza in Downtown Denver.  It was hosted by the American Lung Association. There are more than 600,000 people suffering from lung disease in the Centennial State, according to the […]

  • Family of slain Aurora teen: Social media tips helped find suspect in Mexico

    AURORA, Colo. — The man accused of strangling an 18-year-old Eaglecrest High School graduate in July 2017 has been arrested in Mexico and deported to the United States. Family members of Ally Raber say they are relieved after learning Arturo Garcia is being held at a jail in Dallas. Garcia faces extradition to Colorado. Raber’s stepdad, Andy Starrett, is a cousin of FOX31 reporter Michael Konopasek. “Good, old-fashioned detective work was definitely performed … through us and definitely through the […]

  • Assaults in RiNo/Five Points area have risen during past year, DPD stats show

    DENVER — Police are investigating after a man was randomly attacked in front of a River North bar earlier this month. The violence comes amid an increase of assaults in the Five Points and RiNo area over the past year. One of the most recent assault victims says he was waiting on a Lyft in the RiNo when someone yelled out from behind him. He says he turned around and was immediately punched in the face. FOX31 is not publishing […]

  • Colorado hunter shamed for what group calls “trophy kill”

    DENVER — A Colorado hunter is being blasted on Facebook for hunting a mountain lion. The hunter says her kill was legal, but members of an environmental group are taking her to task—saying she is nothing more than a gory-hungry trophy hunter. The controversy stems from a picture of Franny Esplin posted to her Facebook profile. The image is deeply offensive to environmental activists at Prairie Protection Colorado. “It’s a trophy hunt,” said Deanna Meyer, Prairie Protection Colorado executive director. […]

  • Denver’s Globeville neighborhood resists tiny home village

    DENVER — Battle lines are being drawn in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood over the city’s push to build a tiny home village in the area. Denver is proposing moving the temporary village from 38th and Blake streets in River North to 44th Avenue and Pearl Street. Residents, however, don’t see the city’s idea as just a proposal. They say the city has already made up its mind and residents were never given a choice. “It’s a great site with a lot […]

  • Accused California child killer goes before Colorado judge

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – James Alan Neal, 72, went before an El Paso County judge Thursday. He’s accused of sexually assaulting and strangling an 11-year-old California girl in 1973. Linda Ann O’Keefe’s body was found in a ditch. Investigators in Orange County, California say a genealogy website allowed them to match DNA from the crime scene to an elderly person living in Monument, Colorado. In court Thursday, Neal arrived handcuffed in an orange jumpsuit. He stood at the podium with his […]

  • Anxiety, depression top Pew report of teen problems

    DENVER — More teens say their peers are suffering from anxiety and depression, according to experts. That stress is topping the list of a Pew Research Center report published Wednesday. Depression and anxiety rank higher than other teen issues such as bullying, drug addiction, alcohol and poverty. “I’ll spend, sometimes, ridiculous amounts of time on assignments to get an A,” a CU Denver student told FOX31 Wednesday. Sixty-one percent of Pew-surveyed teens say getting good grades was the top pressure […]

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