BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A well-known conservative radio personality, who was on the airwaves for many years in Kern County has passed away. Inga Barks was 53-years-old, and on Wednesday night close friends reflected on her life.
"One of the most naturally talented broadcasters I’ve ever met in my life. Hands down. Male. Female." It's been a sad couple of days for Blake Taylor, who started working with Inga Barks in 2002 at Kern Radio, where she was a radio host at the station. He says, "you lose someone that influential, that important, it breaks you up inside."
And Inga’s producer at the time Corey Costelloe, also weighing in on the passing of his good friend, who he spoke to just last week. He tells 23ABC that while Bark’s had countless opportunities to go national, she chose to stay locally. Kern County was her home.
He said, "she was very well connected nationally with talk radio hosts like Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Fox News radio, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. So that opened the doors for us to take the show on the road quite a bit."
Following 23ABC's story about Barks' death, Levin tweeted our story with the message, "RIP, Inga Barks, my dear friend. You were an outstanding human-being. You’ll be greatly missed."
Her co-workers saying she was an intellectual and politically savvy powerhouse.
Costelloe said, "Somebody who just lived breathed devoured the local political scene specifically in the state of California. And very few were able to break it down like she did."
Taylor adds, "I mean you don’t go from Bakersfield to fill in for nationally syndicated shows in Manhattan."
Taylor said she stood out in a male-dominated industry of conservative radio. He adds, "She was one of the few females that stood out and was really outspoken and eloquent. She got the job done."
Costelloe said, "She was probably the one person local show wise, that was able to beat Rush Limbaugh head to head in the ratings. That's not something that's easy to do."
He found out that she started writing a book about a year ago about these experiences. He said, “It’s unfortunate that people will never be able to see that book because there were a lot of great stories I was able to witness."
He says he hopes that Bark’s son will be able to find it and finish it for her one day.
