NEWS

Local radio host 'Stevi' dies in cabin

Mark Treinen
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

PLOVER - A midday host on a central Wisconsin country music station died mysteriously while celebrating her wedding anniversary in Minocqua, the station manager said.

Stephanie Ollinger, known as Stevi on WYTE 106.5 FM, died Oct. 1 at age 31.

Stephanie Ollinger, known by her on-air name Stevi, died Saturday morning "following a sudden illness," according to a news release from her employer, NRG Media. She was 31.

Ollinger was one of the voices of WYTE-FM 106.5, which airs in the Stevens Point and Wausau markets.

Ollinger and her husband were spending the weekend in the Northwoods celebrating their two-year anniversary when he came into the cabin and found her "already gone," said NRG Media General Manager Kurt Luchs, who said he still is waiting for authorities to determine a cause of death.

"Stevi had a beautiful voice and a bubbly, irrepressible personality that just leaped out of the radio at you, daring you not to be happy when you had her tuned in," Luchs said in the news release. "We were unbelievably fortunate to have her, and unspeakably saddened to lose her so unexpectedly. She was well loved inside and outside of this building. To say she will be missed doesn't begin to do her justice."

Ollinger also went by the name Stevi in her previous position at WMMM in Madison. Earlier in her radio career she had been known as Sloan at KXXR in Minneapolis and KFMW in Waterloo, where she worked prior to NRG's ownership of that station. In addition to her on-air duties at WYTE, she also tracked the night-shift programming on NRG's variety hits station WBCV-FM 107.9, known as Big Cheese.

A celebration of Ollinger's life will be held Oct. 15 at Boston Funeral Home in Stevens Point. Visitation is scheduled at 1:30 p.m., with services at 3 p.m. All are welcome to attend, according to NRG Media.