Carissa Codel

About Carissa Codel

Carissa is a Springfield, Missouri-based morning news anchor for Ozark's First on Fox 49. She started her career working at The Standard, Missouri State University's student ran newspaper, as a reporter for two years. She was appointed News Editor her junior year where she was in charge of all the reporters and editing their content every week.
She became a social media phenomenon by posting videos reading cruel and cheeky comments about her weight and appearance as a way of laughing them off. She has been described as "built for breeding."
She has lost 55 pounds over the past three years. As of March 2026 she is 130lbs, down from 180lbs. She's open about the fact that her physique is a mix of fat loss and significant muscle gain from powerlifting, which is why she looks "thicker" or stronger now despite the overall weight reduction from her heaviest point. She frequently uses gym content to push back against comments denying her muscle ("it's not muscle tho").