Outoging KHQ anchor gifted key to the city of Wallace

One of Spokane’s beloved news anchors is leaving for Boise, but not without a shiny new keepsake to bring with him.

Mayor Chase Sanborn on Friday awarded KHQ anchor John Webb the key to the city of Wallace, Webb’s hometown. The key was the first Sanborn has awarded since becoming mayor, he said. It was a shock to Webb.

Sanborn felt compelled to gift the key because no other reporter or anchor has shown up for North Idaho quite like Webb has, he told The Spokesman-Review. Since Webb was a young boy, he would report the small town’s news on its local cable channel. His commitment to North Idaho news continued as he got older.

“John always did the news. He was great at interviewing people as a youngster,” Sanborn said. “John is just meant for news. He belongs in it.”

Once Webb announced he would be leaving the Inland Northwest for Boise, viewers reacted on social media. Thousands of people wrote they were saddened to see him go. Sanborn said as soon as he found out Webb was leaving, it felt like the “right time” to show Wallace’s appreciation for their hometown news boy.

Webb joined KHQ in June 2022 as a full-time student at University of Idaho. Months later, he was thrown into reporting on the tragic murders of four University of Idaho students, a story that rocked the nation.

He went on to become the main anchor for the 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. news on weekends, and the station’s main reporter and occasional anchor on weekdays.

Not only has Webb emceed many North Idaho events throughout the years, but he’s likely the first face people see on the scene of North Idaho breaking news. That’s because he cares, said his co-anchor Rosemary Wright, who assisted Sanborn in organizing the surprise.

The day a man walked into the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and opened fire last year, reporters had limited information on the crime. Webb didn’t know if his family or friends were OK.

“He put his own personal life aside and instead delivered late-breaking journalism to the Inland Northwest. It was ultimately one of the main things that got him the key to the city,” Wright said. “That’s on top of his ongoing commitment to the Silver Valley and North Idaho as a whole.”

Hometown reporting is so much different, Webb told The Spokesman-Review. It’s more personal and requires more professional balance.

“North Idaho news affects my friends, it affects my family, and it means so much more,” he said. “When I got the key, I felt overwhelmed. It was a huge honor, because I love the people of that town and all of North Idaho so much.”

Webb will be the new weekday 4 p.m. anchor at KTVB in Boise.

“Wallace, it’s my community. It’s my people, my place,” Webb said. “It’s home.”

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