R.I.P.: Steve Gretsch, MN Radio Station Owner

Steve Gretsch (1962-2026)

Steve Gretsch, the 64-year-old owner and on-air voice of KLFD Radio in Litchfield,  MN known to listeners as “the Giant,” died Sept. 4, 2026, after a motorcycle crash near Cold Spring. 

Gretsch, of Albany, was riding south on a county road with two other motorcyclists shortly before noon when his motorcycle failed to follow a curve, left the roadway and went into a ditch, striking a fiber-optic cable box and a utility pole. He died at the scene. 

For more than 20 years, Gretsch was the familiar voice of KLFD (AM 1410 / FM 95.9), hosting the morning show, calling local sports and voicing countless commercials. He and his wife, Patty, bought the station in 2005. Colleagues said he was not merely part of the station; he was its voice. 

He began in radio at KASM in Albany.  Off the air he was a golfer who rarely missed a season at Albany Golf Club, a hunter and fisherman, and a motorcyclist who looked forward to the ABATE State Motorcycle Rally each Labor Day weekend in Litchfield.