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Northland television hasn’t seen a young sports voice rise this quickly since the late Marsh Nelson, my close buddy and beloved CBS 3 anchor whose calm delivery and deep community roots made him a household name for decades.
Daniel Chiarelli, a Florida native who moved north almost three years ago, has already become one of the region’s most recognizable and energetic broadcasters — a rising star who has fallen hard for hockey and the community he now calls home.
“It’s just been so different than really anything I’ve experienced being born and raised in Florida,” Chiarelli said.“The weather’s different, the people are much nicer. Duluth’s a slower pace of life, which I’ve fallen in love with.”
He said it’s not just his job that makes him feel welcome.
“You go to the grocery store and people are saying, hi, how’s it going?” he said. “How’s the day going? People are super nice.”
What’s surprised Chiarelli most has been the passion for athletics across the Northland.
“I kind of call it a hidden gem of sports,” he said. “Where I come from, few high school gyms are packed during the week. But you come here and go to a Tuesday night girls’ basketball game or a Wednesday night soccer game with the crowd packed. Parents, friends, teachers — it’s such a community feel.”
That atmosphere, he added, fuels his work.
“It makes my job feel more fulfilling,” he said. “It makes me get up in the morning happy, excited, ready to go out there, even if it’s just highlights for a high school game. It brings a lot of purpose to my job.”
Sports, he said, has always been his anchor.
“Growing up, my dad showed me the world of sports, both as a fan and as a player,” he said. “I bounced around. I’m no athlete, but I played a lot of Pop Warner football, T-Ball, and things like that.”
Writing was his strength in school. Broadcasting, he thought, could combine that skill with his passion.
“I applied for a bunch of jobs, honestly said screw it, and moved to Duluth,” he said. “They offered me a position as the morning producer — the guy who comes in at midnight, works until 8 a.m., and does all the behind-the-scenes work for the morning show. But I got my foot in the door.”
Advice from mentors made the move easier.
“The advice I got was, hey, take the chance and run with it and you never know,” he said. “I worked my way up, showed everyone how hard of a worker I am and how passionate I am about sports. Everything’s really worked out.”
Northland News Center VP/General Manager Todd Wentworth says it's rare to see a young journalist come to Duluth from Florida and stay longer than the typical “stepping-stone pitstop”.
“We're certainly pleased that Daniel has chosen to do so,” said Wentworth. “Daniel will get the opportunity to put his stamp on sports coverage for our market and I’m excited to see where he takes things. I feel that sports is more than scores and highlights. I think there's a need for telling the human-interest side of sports and Daniel is the right storyteller for that role.
"My only pet peeve of Daniel is his ardent passion for his Florida Panthers and how his club has ended my Toronto Maple Leafs’ pursuit of a Stanley Cup the last few seasons. His Stanley Cup 'swagger' is tough to take!”
The Northland NewsCenter, Chiarelli said, has become much more than a workplace.
“It’s been an unbelievable place to work,” he said. “The people I get to work with in the newsroom, whether it’s anchors like Dan Wolf or Laura Lee, it truly feels like the people in there I can trust not only with my work but also with things in my personal life.”
“They just kind of took me under their wing,” he added. “Showed me good places to eat, especially to wear gloves in the winter or how to drive in the snow, things like that for this Florida guy.”
Nelson, affectionately known as “Mr. Sports in the Twin Ports,” set the standard against which Chiarelli is now measured. For decades he anchored CBS 3's sports desk, covering everything from high school rivalries to Bulldogs championships with a steady voice and an unmatched connection to local fans. His blend of authority, warmth and credibility made him a fixture in living rooms across the region.
Chiarelli has also built respect for the local coaches who open their doors to the media.
“I think Scott Sandelin is one of them,” he said of coaches who are gracious with their time and professional. “He is great at taking so many of his thoughts and experiences and kind of hammering them down into short, very blunt sentences that get his point across, which I appreciate both as a hockey fan and as someone covering the team.”
He praised others as well.
“Kurt Wiese over at UMD football, he’s always in a very positive mood regardless of the team’s result,” he said. “Pat Andrews at Hermantown — he’s a great example of someone who year in and year out who sets the standard for his own team and as a professional in this industry. And Joe Mooney at Wisconsin-Superior men’s soccer, he’s always willing to help out, go the extra mile, not only for his team but also for members of the media. Covering that team is a ton of fun, and he’s a big reason for that.”
Looking ahead, Chiarelli believes the essence of journalism won’t change, even with technology reshaping the industry.
“I do know the growth of AI is helpful and terrifying,” he said. “As long as people in journalism stick to facts, those will never disappear. Getting the facts of the story and delivering it to the people is the core of our job.”
Meanwhile, he said creativity is just as important.
“AI can do many things, but humans are much more creative,” he said. “As long as we hold onto our creativity, whether delivering information or different ways to do things, that will help.”
Chiarelli also knows the workload in hyperlocal sports coverage can be exhausting.
“Some days are crazy, going to three, four high school games,” he said. “We have three colleges in our area, and then you have the pro teams. You go one night on a broadcast without a Twins highlight, and you’ll get an email, where are the Twins? They won three to one today.”
But the grind, he said, is worth it.
“High school sports is king, almost year-round,” he said. “We also have the Harbor Monsters, the Huskies, so many teams in our area that we cover. Getting all that coverage in is tricky, but I’m also very grateful that we have the amount of sports we get to cover.”
Chiarelli's long-term goal is clear.
“I’m really interested in the live broadcast aspect of sports, play-by-play, color commentary,” he said. “I’ve got the awesome opportunity to be a rinkside commentator for some of the UMD Bulldogs hockey games here, and I love that.”
He paused, then smiled: “Seriously, when I say living the dream, it’s no joke. That’s what I’m doing.”
The comparison may sound lofty for longtime viewers who remember Nelson’s steady voice guiding them through decades of Bulldog seasons and prep highlights. But in Chiarelli, the Northland may once again have a broadcaster with the same rare combination of passion, presence and viewer trust — a next-generation storyteller carrying on Nelson’s legacy as “Mr. Sports in the Twin Ports.”
