Some sad news out of the Valley of the Sun….

Longtime KPNX/KPHO Anchor Kent Dana passed away yesterday.

Dana was one of the most recognizable faces in Phoenix television news.

Dana Anchored the news on KPNX from 1979-to 2004. In 2005, he jumped over to KPHO and anchored the news for 5 more years.

Dana also believed local TV news was vital to creating a sense of community.

“To the younger generation of the broadcast community, I want to tell you this. We all know that TV newsrooms are changing,” he said to an audience in 2018. “Despite the changes, some things have never, ever changed. The ability to find a good story and to tell a good story. And that hasn’t changed at all.”

He died after complications from hip surgery he underwent back in January.

H/T KPNX