GoFundMe account created to help owner keep radio stations KRLT-FM and KOWL-AM

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There are two locally owned and operated radio stations, KRLT FM and KOWL AM, that have served the Lake Tahoe area for 60 years (AM was first, then FM came 40 years ago).

General Manager and Owner Steve Harness took out a note with investors to buy the station from Cherry Creek Radio five years ago. On June 30, 2020, a $100,000 balloon payment on that note is due. While the stations' monthly overhead has stayed the same during the pandemic, their revenue has dropped by roughly 80 percent.

Besides Harness, disc jockey Stacey Lynn is also an owner of the station along with some other investors.

KRLT is home to “Howie’s Morning Rus,h” the “Sierra House Weather Kids,” the “Angel of Tahoe Contest” which has given away about $200,000 to locals over the past two years, local news and interviews. They support the efforts of countless non-profits, promote local businesses as well as events.

The stations are number one in the local market and aren't run by a corporate entity as so many others are.

"As a “mom & pop” business, our savings are limited and have been exhausted during this Covid-19 shutdown," said Harness. "We need to raise at least $100,000 in order to have a viable chance of extending the loan terms. If we do not, it is extremely likely that the stations will be foreclosed on and sold off to a national radio company that would simply use our frequency to relay one of their stations from outside the market."

Harness said the odds are slim that any entity would want to buy the standalone radio stations in a tourist market and operate them locally in this economy.

"It would mean the end of local radio in South Lake Tahoe," added Harness.

He has started a Go Fund Me account to help make that balloon payment and is also asking for any interested investors to get in touch with him or the station.

Go Fund Me: HERE

KRLT: http://krltfm.com/