Longtime Central Valley conservative radio personality Inga Barks passed away Wednesday at the age of 53.
Barks’ son Solomon Morrelle Barks confirmed his mother’s passing to KGET, saying he and other family members were with her when she passed away around 2:30 a.m.
Barks was a prominent conservative radio host, spending time on KERN-AM 1180, KNZR 1560 and KMJ 580, as well as filling in for national hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin occasionally.
Levin tweeted Wednesday, “RIP, Inga Barks, my dear friend. You were an outstanding human-being. You’ll be greatly missed.”
Solomon Barks told KGET that his mother did not feel well Monday and became unresponsive, so she was taken to an intensive care unit.
The cause of death was not released.
“There are so many people that were so connected with her, not just in the valley but around the country, who listened to her on the air and followed her on Facebook,” Solomon Barks told KGET.
Corey Costelloe, Barks’ producer, told 23ABC News that she had many opportunities to take her show national but chose to stay local.
“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,” Costelloe said.
Costelloe noted to 23ABC that Barks 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.”
Barks’ husband, Michael Barks, passed away in 2011, and she is survived by her three sons: Solomon, Joshua and Samuel.
