Tori Apodaca, a reporter at CBS Sacramento, announced Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, on social media that she’s leaving the station after three years covering Sacramento County.
Tori Apodaca via Instagram
CBS Sacramento’s Tori Apodaca is leaving Channel 13 after three years at the station.
Apodaca announced the news via Instagram on Friday, her final day at KOVR, thanking colleagues and local viewers “for letting me live this dream.”
Apodaca covered Sacramento County for the CBS owned-and-operated station based in West Sacramento.
“I was so humbled to serve as ‘your reporter covering Sacramento County’ — getting answers and holding the powerful accountable,” Apodaca posted. “Excited to share what’s next soon.”
In her post, she reflected on watching Channel 13 while working at KHSL-TV Action News Now in Chico, her first television market, “never imagining I’d have the opportunity” to work in the capital city.
“I feel nothing but gratitude for the three years I spent here,” Apodaca said in the post. “From the talented photographers and team I worked with on the day-to-day to the community that trusted me to tell their stories: thank you for letting me live this dream.”
It was unclear where Apodaca’s next assignment would be — contracts often prevent on-air journalists from disclosing their plans until they arrive — but the Orange County native follows in the footsteps of other reporters who have moved on to bigger TV markets.
Andie Judson recently left ABC10 for KING-TV in Seattle, where she joined former KXTV colleague Madison Wade.
Ty Steele — a longtime fixture for viewers of KCRA and, before that, KTXL’s Fox40 news team — left Sacramento in December 2024 for WDIV-TV in Detroit, where he was named evening anchor. Other KCRA personalties to depart recently include Brittany Hope, who’s now at KNBC in Los Angeles, and Orko Manna, who reports for KHOU in Houston.
Sacramento is the 20th-largest TV market in the U.S., according to the Nielsen Co., which tracks viewership used by stations and advertisers.
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The Sacramento Bee
Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.