KGIW is one of the oldest surviving radio call signs in southern Colorado. Period records place the station at 1420 kHz in Trinidad by 1929, initially associated with the Trinidad Creamery Co. and later Leonard E. Wilson. In 1933 the station received authorization to move from Trinidad to Alamosa, where it was operating by 1934.
The station later moved to 1450 kHz under the 1941 North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. KGIW remains on the air in Alamosa today, preserving a lineage that reaches back to the late 1920s.
Sources: Radio Digest, 1929–1930; Colorado State Library, Year Book of the State of Colorado (1931) — contemporary listing of KGIW in Trinidad under Leonard E. Wilson at 1420 kHz; National Association of Broadcasters Reports, 1933; New Zealand Radio Record, 1934; FCC station history and current station records.
STATION FILE
FROM THE TIMELINE
Moments in KGIW-AM History
KGIW appears in Trinidad
KGIW appeared on 1420 kHz with 100 watts. A 1929 Radio Digest directory identified the Trinidad Creamery Co. with the station. Later state records identify Leonard E. Wilson as licensee. Modern histories associate KGIW with Alamosa, so the station's Trinidad-to-Alamosa transition remains under active research.
KGHF and KGIW remain on the 1930 dial
Federal-era station listings continued to show Pueblo's KGHF on 1320 kHz under Curtis P. Ritchie and Joe E. Finch. KGIW remained listed on 1420 kHz in Trinidad; period tuning guides still identified it with Trinidad rather than Alamosa.
KGIW licensed to Leonard E. Wilson in Trinidad
Colorado's state yearbook listed KGIW at 1420 kHz, 100 watts, licensed to Leonard E. Wilson in Trinidad.
KGIW authorized to move from Trinidad to Alamosa
KGIW remained listed at 1420 kHz/100 watts in Trinidad during 1933. An October station-change report recorded a permit authorizing KGIW to move from Trinidad to Alamosa.
KGIW operating from Alamosa
KGIW was operating from Alamosa on 1420 kHz. A May 1934 publication reproduced correspondence from station manager G. A. Jenkins arranging a special KGIW program for radio listeners in New Zealand.
KIDW and KGIW share 1420 kHz
KIDW in Lamar was operating at 1420 kHz with 100 watts and sharing time with Alamosa's KGIW. Earlier research suggesting KIDW went permanently dark in 1936 is contradicted by subsequent federal station lists; the station remained part of the licensed Colorado dial later in the decade.
Southern Colorado stations remain active in federal lists
Federal station lists continued to show KVOR in Colorado Springs, KGHF in Pueblo, KGIW in Alamosa, KIUP in Durango, KOKO in La Junta and KIDW in Lamar. The surviving lists are important evidence that several small-market facilities remained active even when later retrospective histories are incomplete.
KOKO and KIDW under Southwest Broadcasting
The March 7 FCC station list identified La Junta's KOKO as a 100-watt, unlimited-time station on 1370 kHz owned by Southwest Broadcasting Co. Lamar's KIDW was listed at 1420 kHz with 100 watts, also owned by Southwest Broadcasting Co., sharing hours with KGIW.
NARBA moving day reshapes Southern Colorado radio
The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement triggered a continent-wide “moving day” for AM radio. Frequencies from 1200 through 1450 kHz generally shifted upward 30 kHz. In Southern Colorado this moved KVOR from 1270 to 1300, KGHF from 1320 to 1350, KOKO and KIUP from 1370 to 1400, and KGIW/KIDW from 1420 to 1450. The new assignments became the basis for several familiar long-term frequencies.
KEEP EXPLORING
Go further down the dial
HELP IMPROVE THE ARCHIVE
See something that needs a correction?
Suggest a correction or add information to this station. Nothing changes publicly until it is reviewed.