Los Alamos station that carries ’Toppers games going silent

KRSN plans to cease broadcasting Aug. 30 in wake of pandemic, loss of high school contests

pandemic, which has cut into advertising revenue, as reasons for the decision.

Mortenson, who has broadcast Hilltoppers contests for 35 years, expressed disappointment about the radio station’s closure but hopes someone will step into the void left by KRSN.

“There is a remote possibility that when things fire up again, we might want to fire up again, too,” Mortenson said. “Right now, their attitude is that they can’t do that right now, but maybe it will change in the future.”

KRSN began broadcasting in 1945, and the Suttons boasted about the numerous broadcasting honors the radio station earned through the years, including Radio Station of the Year by the New Mexico Broadcasters Association, a National Crystal Radio Award finalist nod and several New Mexico Presswomen’s awards. Mortenson was inducted into the New Mexico Broadcasters Association’s Hall of Fame in 2010 and earned its top play-by play award in 2013.

The Suttons touted its morning show, of which David Sutton was a co-host, but its calling card was the almost wallto-wall coverage of Hilltoppers sports. Mortenson and his color commentator, Mike Maez-Côté, covered almost every

Los Alamos team sport. Mortenson got his start in 1985 covering soccer.

Mortenson said the station manager was looking for someone to broadcast the Hilltoppers boys team during the state tournament, and his name came up.

“Someone told Dean Burns, ‘Get Gene Mortsenson,’ ” he said. “‘He has a good voice and he’s been doing the PA for them.’ So, Dean asked me to do it, and I did the soccer tournament, and it just mushroomed from there.”

Maez-Côté, a 1993 Los Alamos graduate, became a part of the broadcasting team in 1999, and later added sports reporting duties for the morning show. Over time, he and Mortenson brought an institutional knowledge of Los Alamos

sports to their broadcasts.

“I’ve been involved in the Los Alamos sporting community as a broadcaster and reporter over 20 years,” Maez-Côté said. “It’s always been an exciting experience for me because this has been an excellent sports town.”

Mortenson said the broadcasts weren’t just heard by the locals. When KRSN began livesteaming, people as far away as Idaho and the Midwest let Mortenson know they were listening.

“It’s been a lot of fun, but the neat thing is to be a real integral part of the sports scene up here,” Mortenson said. “I always thought it was neat to be called ‘The Voice of Los Alamos.’ Right now, though, the voice has gone quiet.”