When local White Bear Lake Area High School students Zach Halverson and Chad Olson hosted their first live broadcast of a high school lacrosse game in May 2012, they had no idea that their radio station, the Halverson Olson Radio Network (the Horn), would become such a success among students and community members alike.
The duo came up with the idea to provide live, play-by-play coverage and color commentary of White Bear Lake sports straight from the field in January 2012. “There are a lot of alumni here who are passionate about White Bear Lake Sports,” Halverson says. “I don’t think [the Horn] would work many other places.”
Since that first test broadcast, the Horn listenership has continued to grow beyond just the students, peaking at the section final hockey game between White Bear Lake and Hill-Murray last winter with 4,400 listeners. “That blew me away,” Halverson says. “There were people listening from all over the world—it was crazy.”
Though Halverson will be attending Century College this year, then Brown College in Mendota Heights to pursue his passion for broadcasting, he plans to stay involved with the Horn for the time being. In the long term, he hopes to see the school add a broadcasting class that’s run in conjunction with the Horn. “I want to see [the Horn] continue for years to come,” he says. We bet your fellow White Bear Lake sports enthusiasts couldn’t agree more.
