The Federal Communications Commission is fining KLSU, the University’s student-run radio station, $10,000 for a record-keeping violation.KLSU must pay the fine by Sept. 7, or the FCC will not renew its license to broadcast.John Friscia, faculty adviser for KLSU, said the radio station failed to keep track of certain public files needed for the station’s license to be renewed by the FCC.The station didn’t keep proper track of its public inspection file between 1998 and 2002, according to the FCC report. Former KLSU faculty adviser Raymond Bigalki filed a complaint with the FCC against the station in late 2003, Friscia said. Bigalki complained about KLSU’s missing data and suggested the station’s operating license not be renewed. The FCC notified KLSU about the complaint in 2004, but it took about five years for the commission to formally charge the station for the violation. Friscia said he thinks some of the data might have been lost during the station’s remodel in 2000. “Somebody misplaced [the files],” Friscia said. KLSU is operating normally, but the station’s budget will be its biggest hurdle this semester, Friscia said. The University is having to endure about $20 million in budget cuts because of slumping state revenue and the national recession, and the fiscal belt-tightening is being felt throughout its campus. With the $10,000 fee considered, the station’s budget situation looks even bleaker. “We’ll have to figure out how to absorb that into our budget,” Friscia said. “Everybody knows it’s been a tough year already budget wise.”Friscia wasn’t specific about how the fine will be paid, but said he expects KLSU to pay it and get its license renewed. Chris Normand, KLSU station manager, said while he wasn’t a student at the University when the files went missing, he is confident the station will pull through this incident. “We’re definitely creative people, so I think we can find some creative ways to get around these budget issues,” Normand said. KLSU is owned by the University and broadcasts on 91.1 FM. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]