suspended or revoked. After an investigation, the state bar determined that both Kulongowski and Leonhardt were "credible" in their accounts of the matter, and closed the investigation for want of sufficient evidence to continue. Larson appealed the decision, calling it contradictory; upon appeal, the decision was upheld. The general counsel to the bar wrote an email to Larson stating that "given the directly contradictory accounts of the parties and the total absence of any other evidence, I cannot conclude that there is sufficient evidence to form a reasonable belief that misconduct may have occurred", noting that the only evidence against Kulongoski was the testimony of Leonhardt. She added that "it is indisputable that memories fade with time and that two people can walk away from the same conversation with very different ideas of what was said." Larson has accused the state bar of having "swept this matter under the rug". Personal life Larson was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His father served in the United States Navy, and when he began a career in forestry, the Larson family lived in Montana, California (Happy Camp, Somes Bar, and Dorris), and Klamath Falls, Oregon, before settling in Tillamook, Oregon, when Lars was a teenager. Lars has one sister, Patty Schild, of Sisters, Oregon. He graduated from Tillamook High School, where he had been on the speech and debate team. In the early 1990s, he was married to Debb Janes, a Portland radio personality. In 1997, Larson married Tina Larson. They live in Vancouver, Washington. He has two step-children. Controversial remarks In December 2005, Larson declared on-air that he was protesting the renaming of the traditional Christmas tree placed in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square a "Holiday Tree" by placing his own Christmas Cross in the square. The idea was reversed because of legal concerns for his flagship station. On March 18, 2008, in the context of a discussion about Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama and U.S. policy toward Israel, Larson called former president Jimmy Carter an anti-Semite on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight. Awards National Press Club award "Can't You Hear the Whistle Blow?" (KPTV News 1988) This was also a finalist for a national Emmy. Peabody Award 1990 (KPTV Northwest Reports: "Mount St. Helens: A Decade Later") Northwest Regional Emmy Award for best investigative reporting (1994 KPTV Northwest Reports: "The Round File", with Gordon Coffin) As of 2020, Talkers Magazine rates Larson as the 13th