Carol LeBeau is a California girl with an Iowa heart and mind.

For the past 24 years LeBeau has been a nightly anchor on KGTV-10 in San Diego, Calif. But the Iowa girl, born in Chicago, raised in Davenport and a University of Northern Iowa graduate, remembers her roots well.

"I'm still an Iowan at heart. I love that. I could live (back there) in a minute. The thing I would miss would be the ocean swimming," said LeBeau, 50.

Swimming is key part of LeBeau's connection to the Cedar Valley. She came to the University of Northern Iowa in 1972 after graduating from Davenport Assumption High School and joined the swimming team. It was the first year of Title 9, which opened the door to athletics for women, but LeBeau did not get a scholarship to swim here.

"I loved swimming at UNI, but I didn't feel like I was majoring in swimming. We swam comfortably against other schools our size. It was more social in those days. I had a great time and as a result I still love to swim," she said during a phone interview.

LeBeau is a master swimming who competitively participates in rough-water swimming in her age group. "It's a blast. I've gotten hooked up with a group of folks who are into that," she said, talking about the different ocean waters they have swam. She's also a distance runner.

LeBeau got into journalism at UNI because of fondness for working on her high school paper. She worked for the Northern Iowan student newspaper, working her way up to editor over the years.

After graduating from UNI, she got a job at then WOC-TV in Davenport, where she worked for two years before moving on to the CBS affiliate in Peoria, Ill. "I worked for three years as a reporter, anchor and producer. I also did a little talk show - badly. Then I got this phone call from the ABC station in San Diego," she said.

She hadn't applied for the job, but a co-worker had. The bosses in San Diego were impressed by her lead-ins to that reporter's work and called her for a job.

"It's a crap shoot. They were looking for the wholesome brunette to balance out the surfer dudes and other pretty blond women," she cracked. "It hasn't been a bad deal. I initially was hired as a weekend anchor and spent the other three days as the helicopter reporter."

She was nervous about the big move to California, but credits her dad with giving her the push. "He said, 'you're single and it's a great growing community and if you don't like it, come home.' And that got me in my car," LeBeau said.

She's been married 20 years to Tom Hamilton, a retired Navy pilot who later owned his own charter bus service. He is now semi-retired and working at their church as business manager. They have no children, but two cats.

Her fondest memories of Cedar Falls is the connection she made the Henry family. She became close to former swimming coach Glen Henry over the year.

"I interviewed him many times (for the school paper). I got to be friendly with him and baby-sat his children," she said. Henry offered her a job over the summer working at Ray Edwards Pool

"It taught me to live on my own (over the summer). The Henry family was like my second family."

LeBeau has been keeping track of Glen Henry's progress since a serious motorcycle accident in July in Wisconsin. The accident has left Henry paralyzed. The family has moved Henry to the Phoenix area to be closer to his children.

"He's the most incredible guy. He'd push you beyond your comfort zone," she recalls.

LeBeau has just signed another five-year contract to stay at the station.

"I guess this is where the Lord put me."

-- Nancy Raffensperger Newhoff, Courier Managing Editor