Teri Barr's journey through journalism is bringing her full-circle.

Her interest began in eighth grade after a visit to Madison and participation in State 4-H Congress, an opportunity to attend various classes and check out future career-interests. One journalism seminar, and she was hooked. Now Teri's in Madison once again; as an anchor and reporter for News 3 and UPN14.

Teri left the Badger state after spending more than 10 years as an anchor at WLUK-TV in Green Bay. Prior to that, she spent two years in Wausau at WSAW-TV as the station's main anchor. But she actually started her career with several radio news jobs. While still in high school, she worked in Shawano at WTCH. After graduating from UW-Oshkosh with a major in Radio-TV-Film and minors in Journalism and Political Science, Teri worked at WGEE/WIXX in Green Bay. She moved on to Cincinnati in the spring of 2000, where she traveled as a coorespondent for Hearst-Argyle Television, eventually being assigned to the company's NBC-station in Cincinnati.

Teri was lured across the street to the No. 1 CBS affiliate in the country, WKRC in Cincinnati. ("Not WKRP!" she says. ) There, she had the opportunity to do freelance work for The CBS Early Show, The Weather Channel and the CBS Radio Network based in New York.

But her Wisconsin ties run deep -- everything from growing up on a dairy farm in the central part of the state where her parents still live to serving as a Fairest of the Fair and even being picked as a finalist for Alice in Dairyland!

WISC's invitation to return was a welcome surprise.

Teri's been an award-winning reporter and anchor throughout her career and believes strongly in giving back to the community. Some of her involvement includes The American Cancer Society, Prevent Blindness, American Heart Association, Take Back the Night-Awareness about Violence, and Golden Apples-Teacher Success Stories. Her work garnered attention and she received one of the highest awards given to Business and Professional Women in Northeast Wisconsin, as well as a Crime-Awareness Award from the Green Bay Police Department, and a commendation from former President Bill Clinton for a series of stories on the environment.

Some of the more meaningful stories she says she's been able to share includes one of the first one-on-one interviews with Denise Brown after her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered, riots and violence in the streets of Cincinnati after a police-shooting there, being chosen as the media representative to share the death-row story of a man and his family -- both prior to his death and as a witness of it by lethal injection -- and the Packers road to two recent Super Bowls.

Teri lives in Madison with her husband, Brian, a photojournalist; and their two cats, Tumblebrutus and Rumpus El Gato.

She plays piano, loves to read and travel and believes no one should ever stop learning. She's currently studying Spanish.

E-mail Teri at TBarr@wisctv.com