Kayla Brooks
Executive Producer/Anchor
Harrisonburg, VA
:no_upscale()/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/gray/ed2a534c-a36d-4f81-8616-f88fc34e2062.png)
Kayla Brooks joined the WHSV team in June 2021. She is from Middle Tennessee and graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a major in broadcast journalism and a minor in political science.
Throughout high school, Kayla competed in National Speech and Debate Association competitions. At UT Martin, she worked for the campus radio station, WUTM 90.3 The Hawk, contributed to UTM-TV and interned at WPSD Local 6 in Paducah, Kentucky.
In her free time, Kayla likes to read a good book, work out, spend time with her family (which includes her two dogs and cat). Kayla is a dedicated storyteller who wants to get to the bottom of issues that matter to you.
Education
Awards
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023 at 7:07 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
The percentage of tractor trailers on 81 is higher, and there are fewer lanes.
Updated: Oct. 27, 2022 at 4:20 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Mary Baldwin University has launched a program that eliminates 100% of tuition costs for some incoming students.
Updated: Oct. 24, 2022 at 4:24 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Some states may add COVID-19 vaccines to their list of vaccination requirements for school attendance, but that’s not the case for every state.
Updated: Sep. 12, 2022 at 6:39 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The alleged “Shopping Cart Killer” appeared in Harrisonburg-Rockingham General District Court Monday, Sept. 12.
Updated: Aug. 19, 2022 at 1:34 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The Waynesboro Police Department arrested Matthew Edward Miller, 29, of Afton, on eight alleged counts of child pornography.
Updated: Jul. 8, 2022 at 4:43 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary trauma, happens when someone is repeatedly exposed to other people’s experiences.
Updated: Jun. 9, 2022 at 5:36 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Drug overdose deaths increased in Virginia in 2016, and that’s when fentanyl came into play.
Updated: Jun. 8, 2022 at 10:41 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
A Waynesboro woman charged in the death of a Valley toddler has a trial set for next year.
Updated: Jun. 7, 2022 at 5:03 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
30 years ago, a random killing turned strangers into enemies. As time went on, the pair became friends.
Updated: Jun. 6, 2022 at 4:45 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
A study from American Psychological Association found one-third of adults say fear of mass shootings prevents them from going some places.
Updated: May. 4, 2022 at 5:39 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Since September, community members and investigators have talked about a local three-year-old who went missing months before her disappearance was reported.
Updated: Apr. 14, 2022 at 7:26 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
It’s heating up outside, which means bugs are making their appearances.
Updated: Apr. 6, 2022 at 6:28 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
A group of locals and historians will gather tonight to talk about the wealth of information within Valley cemeteries.
Updated: Apr. 4, 2022 at 4:02 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed five bills Monday that focus on animal welfare.
Updated: Mar. 28, 2022 at 6:11 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The woman connected with the disappearance of a three-year-old out of Augusta County faced a grand jury Monday, March 28.
Updated: Mar. 17, 2022 at 4:40 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The commonwealth ranked in the top tier of states for emergency preparedness in Trust for America’s Health’s “Ready or Not” study.
Updated: Mar. 2, 2022 at 12:26 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are down, so the CDC and Virginia Department of Health say it’s time to update mitigation strategies.
Updated: Feb. 24, 2022 at 5:43 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
International conflicts are all too real for many in Harrisonburg.
Updated: Feb. 22, 2022 at 6:24 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
The country is seeing fewer family farm bankruptcies than in recent years, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau.
Updated: Jan. 19, 2022 at 5:53 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
It seems like it would be difficult to spot, but law enforcement officials say if you know the signs of human trafficking, you can help end the cycle.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2022 at 6:25 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s first executive orders and executive directives have local colleges and universities making changes to their employee vaccination policies.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2022 at 6:13 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Those high infection rates, along with effective vaccines, leads some experts to think we could reach an endemic phase of COVID-19.
Updated: Jan. 12, 2022 at 6:29 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Now, mental health professionals say they’re seeing TikTok-users, especially teens and young adults, self-diagnosing in videos about mental health disorders like anxiety or ADHD.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2022 at 5:33 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
It’s been about four months since we first learned the name Khaleesi Cuthriell, and the investigation continues.
Updated: Dec. 30, 2021 at 5:31 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Oral antiviral medications being used to treat COVID-19 are becoming more available, but they’re still being distributed.
Updated: Dec. 30, 2021 at 5:15 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
As we get ready to turn our calendars to 2022, new laws are on the horizon, and there are a handful of changes set for the commonwealth.
Updated: Dec. 29, 2021 at 5:05 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
A grant of nearly $50,000 will restore eight Augusta County historical volumes dating back to the 1740s.
Updated: Dec. 27, 2021 at 5:41 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Middle River Regional Jail continues to navigate safety measures and cases of COVID-19.
Updated: Dec. 24, 2021 at 6:02 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
A federal law will soon protect everyone against surprise emergency room bills.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2021 at 5:23 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for COVID-19 booster doses have changed, and some wonder if vaccine mandates will be amended to include booster doses.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2021 at 5:14 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Memories of school shootings and other traumatic events continue to impact children, even if they weren’t there.
Updated: Dec. 13, 2021 at 5:19 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
The Waynesboro City Council will hear plans for the future of a Civil War monument formerly located in Constitution Park during their meeting Monday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.
Updated: Dec. 10, 2021 at 6:10 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Information about Khaleesi Cuthriell’s disappearance was released Sept. 10, three months ago.
Updated: Nov. 19, 2021 at 6:05 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
For the 34th year in a row, Augusta County students are raising money to provide meals to families in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County.
Updated: Nov. 16, 2021 at 5:47 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
Some in the community are making sure she’s never forgotten. A group is putting together a celebration of life on her birthday, Dec. 5, when she would have turned four.
Updated: Nov. 9, 2021 at 7:31 PM EST
|By Kayla Brooks
During the Virginia gubernatorial race, censorship and book banning became a popular topic, with some school boards raising questions about the content of some material.
Updated: Oct. 26, 2021 at 5:17 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Not only were they devastated, they were asking questions. Many are asking, How did Khaleesi end up in Candi Royer’s care? How was she gone for months with no one recognizing it?
Updated: Oct. 22, 2021 at 4:42 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Even though opioid dispensing has decreased in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported there were still more than 153 million opioid prescriptions filled in 2019.
Updated: Oct. 21, 2021 at 5:19 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Experts believe these symptoms may be related to time spent on social media platforms like TikTok.
Updated: Oct. 21, 2021 at 5:03 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Chief Warrant Officer Phillip Lacey dedicated an American flag with a certificate for the cadets.
Updated: Oct. 14, 2021 at 5:24 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The case of Khaleesi Cuthriell has garnered national attention.
Updated: Oct. 1, 2021 at 3:46 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
If approved, the drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19. Dr. Bill Petri, Infectious Disease Professor at the University of Virginia, says that’s a big step in coronavirus therapy.
Updated: Sep. 28, 2021 at 5:28 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Two people charged in the disappearance of three-year-old Khaleesi Cuthriell likely won’t be back in Virginia for a few months.
Updated: Sep. 28, 2021 at 4:55 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
“They don’t want to be known as a hero, they want to be known as a human being, so we need to take care of them, and they also need to be taken care of,” Farmer said.
Updated: Sep. 20, 2021 at 6:03 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The search for a three-year-old girl out of Augusta County, who has been unaccounted for since February, continues.
Updated: Sep. 16, 2021 at 5:28 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The Virginia Department of Health has introduced a new way to help schools test for COVID-19.
Updated: Sep. 14, 2021 at 6:21 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The search for a three-year-old Augusta County girl continues, officials said Tuesday, Sept. 14.
Updated: Sep. 8, 2021 at 5:51 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
The requirement has become a popular debate topic, with many citing HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as a reason to keep vaccination status private.
Updated: Sep. 7, 2021 at 5:54 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
With some concert venues and theatres starting to introduce vaccine mandates, some people are starting to get ads for fake vaccine cards or negative test results online.Fake vaccination cards could be bad for public health, but they could also be bad for your future, the Federal Trade Commission said.
Updated: Aug. 27, 2021 at 2:50 PM EDT
|By Kayla Brooks
Dr. Wenger said it’s hard to know what flu season will be like since community health standards, like masking and social distancing, change.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ZXCN4WROQNGWXKY2IOOB6W6BUE.PNG)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/4ODFGVNEWVFXFPGNDW6LHJMTYQ.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/OX73KNMQXBBIJHJOUQ4M5QV53U.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/COOYFMFGMNBMZJ3FDKSAPYB72I.PNG)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/L5YVUBEMT5LEVLOIBQOWRHXTXY.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/Y5WP36BPXBFJ3FOKDLVNAILRVE.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/MBY5S43RTJGO7PWM5VCMG4HG5Q.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/JH5OMGNQFZGPDK5WIA5EZQMQ4I.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/5ESIVPRN4VDXDC3VFYRMTGFP7U.bmp)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KINYPZ7YEVDHJMN3YRYRGGOK54.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3DRAZ6CPYFHMHBRW7YAPBUMXEE.png)