Minnesotan To Meet: WCCO Photographer Bob Cowan

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For work he's traveled to places like: South America, Hawaii, the frozen Tundra, even Romania. You probably don't know him, but you may recognize his work, you see it every day when you watch WCCO.

Around our newsroom, photojournalist Bob Cowan is known for his hats, but on your screen he's known for his stories. After 46 years of helping all of us tell great stories at WCCO, we decided he's definitely a Minnesotan you should certainly meet.

As a kid, Cowan grew up just outside of Chicago in Dundee, Illinois, so getting back to the big city seemed like the logical career path.

"I thought I would be here three or four years" Cowan said.

He first accepted a job here at WCCO when he was 23 years old. Now, 46 years later he's still walking through the door.

"I learned a lot here, the people here were senior when I started were really the pioneers in this industry," Cowan said.

The now father of two grown children married a Duluth native in 1978.

"Next thing you know she's moving to Minneapolis and we're together and we're getting married," Cowan said.

Cowan and his wife, Nancy, call south Minneapolis home.

As he prepares for retirement, he said it's the people and places that kept him here all these years.

"We did more here than any other TV stations did pretty much in the country," Cowan said. "I've been able to travel the world and see a lot of change and take our audience to all these places. It's pretty amazing."

Stories like polar bear migration through the town of Churchill, Manitoba.

"About this time of the year they have polar bears wondering streets, they have special polar bear police, and we were there a week," said Bob as he discussed filming the story.

He calls capturing shots -- like ones with former WCCO anchor Don Shelby -- pure luck.

But it's not polar bears, but a story across the Atlantic Ocean that Cowan said is his proudest accomplishment.

"You just can't imagine this is how things are because it's so different from what we're used to here," Cowan said, as he discussed his trip to Romania for a series called Iron Crib.

Cowan and Shelby took viewers inside Romanian orphanages in horrible condition, as a result hundreds of children were adopted.

"It was the one story if there's reason why I'm doing this job, it was that story," Cowan said.

Minnesotans Nancy and Ken Fritz adopted a little girl named Vaselica who was seen in one of their stories.

"That one adoption triggered something in them and they adopted 13 more children around the world with special needs," Cowan said.

To Cowan it's not just a job, but rather a day well spent.

"You hear that you really aren't supposed to define who you are, but this job has defined who I am," Cowan said.

Cowan's last day will be Halloween; he said it's a good day to start a new identity.