Start your day at 6:00am with WKTV News at Sunrise and the Talk of the Town" with Mark Piersma & Frank Elias, weekdays 7:00am-10am. The "Talk of the Town" features local, regional, state and national guests. The issues that affect all of us, plus entertainment features, business report, local news, weather, Consumer Reports daily feature--and your phone calls!

Who is Mark Piersma? Sometimes we don't even know. It's like the old TV show "To Tell The Truth." Will the real Mark Piersma, please stand up! Sometimes he's hot, other times cold. He loves coffee. Sometimes too much. He's been called a liberal, a conservative, Democrat, and Republican. Luckily, not all at the same time.

Mark's originally from Oriskany and now calls Utica home, so he can debate the merits of the Master Plan, roundabout and the city's best pizza, by being right in the middle of it all. You'll hear Mark occasionally talk of his fiancee and their young son, since Mark sometimes has to stay up all night or sleep on the floor. We're not sure who in the family exactly causes what.

Frank Elias is the owner and president of the Utica Coffee Roasting Company, a business which he founded six years ago. Frank was most recently the president of the Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce and previously employed at both Mohawk Valley Community College and Herkimer County Community College. He holds a Masters of Business Administration and Bachelors of Science degrees from Clarkson University and an Associates of Applied Science from Herkimer County Community College. Frank is a lifelong resident of the Mohawk Valley and resides in Deerfield.