Chuck Lofton originally didn’t want to be a meteorologist because he felt it would pigeon-hole him. He quickly learned it offered the chance to showcase his expansive personality.
Originally from the northern Chicago suburbs, Chuck was first heard “on the air” on his high school’s “Radio Quiz Bowl!”
At Southern Illinois University, he joined the WSIU news and sports team…broadcasting into two states, three times a day. He also was tapped to do the weather at WSIU because he had taken earth science classes.
Chuck graduated on a Saturday and started working at Evansville’s WFIE-TV two days later, on Monday, eventually anchoring the noon and 6 p.m. weather.
After nearly 7 years in Evansville, the offer came to launch WTHR’s 13 Sunrise in Indianapolis, an early morning assignment that lasted 40 years and culminated with the Mayor of Indianapolis marking Chuck’s retirement moment in 2025 as “Chuck Lofton Day.”
At WTHR, he covered significant weather events and was a fixture on that station’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400, and many other sporting events. Chuck is active in the community too, especially with Damar Services and the Salvation Army.
In his final six years at WTHR, he traversed the United States and Canada logging 140 stories with his trademark “Chuck’s Big Adventure.” Lofton invited people to live vicariously through his reports whether broadcasting from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri, ice fishing in Wisconsin, or from Mackinaw Island’s Grand Hotel during the COVID pandemic.
He won 12 Emmy Awards for “Chuck’s Big Adventure,” and has earned numerous industry honors, including induction in the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Silver Circle and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Downtown Indy Alliance.
He continues to speak to businesses and organizations about faith and leadership and is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Mary, their three sons, and their three granddaughters.
