| Mike Thompson spent nearly 40 years in broadcasting, much of it as a well-known figure on two Kansas City television stations (KCTV5 and WDAF), retiring at the end of 2018. He won numerous awards and recognitions for his broadcasting work.
Beyond his work on television, Thompson was also heavily involved in the Kansas City community, particularly when it came to educating children about the weather. Mike originated, organized, wrote, and produced "Weathering the Storm" an educational weather show designed for school children, for 20 years ending in 2018. Hundreds of thousands of children have attended the program, held each year at Kauffman Stadium, in conjunction with the Kansas City Royals. Between 2006 and 2014, he won six Emmy Awards for his meteorological work on-air and in for his work producing the weather show for School Day at the "K".
Mike studied meteorology in the United States Navy, and after graduation was assigned as a weather observer/forecaster aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington until 1979. He began his television career in Oklahoma City, at KOKHTV and KWTV. He then moved to WPCQ-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1983, Mike became the chief meteorologist at KCTV in Kansas City, where he worked for 9 years before moving to WDAF-TV in 1992 where he was the Chief Meteorologist for 27 years. In October of 2019, Mike launched a non profit educational foundation, the Academy for Climate and Energy Analysis.
Mike Thompson has now served in the Kansas Senate for five years, where he has emerged as a key leader on several important issues as chair of the Utilities Committee and Federal & State Affairs Committee, building bi-partisan coalitions to enact common-sense solutions into law.
Thompson and his wife of 43 years, LeAnne, have 3 children and 10 grandchildren. Mike and his wife attend St. Joseph Catholic Church and have lived in Shawnee since 1983. |