Steve Kelley

Steve Kelley is a longtime Denver broadcaster whose career encompassed Top 40 radio, news-talk, television and some of the most memorable charity promotions of KIMN’s later years.

Kelley arrived at KIMN in 1977 after earlier radio work that included WLCY in Florida. At KIMN he became one of the station’s best-known personalities, eventually hosting evenings. His willingness to turn public stunts into fundraisers became a defining feature of his work. In 1978, Kelley rode an escalator continuously for 48 hours, earning recognition from Guinness World Records while raising $21,000 for cancer research. Other marathon promotions followed.

By 1983 Kelley had been named Denver Radio Personality of the Year. KIMN vice president and general manager Steve Keeney described him in a 1984 Radio & Records profile as the best-known disc jockey in town, citing both his on-air popularity and charitable work.

Kelley later became a major morning personality at KOA, extending his career from music radio into news and talk. He also worked in Denver television at KDVR Fox31 before returning to radio, including a later stint at KNUS.

Kelley retired from regular broadcasting in 2017. In 2026 he was selected for induction into the Colorado Broadcast Hall of Fame, recognition of a Denver career that had stretched across several decades and multiple eras of local media.

Sources: Radio & Records, May 18, 1984 — Steve Kelley at KIMN; Westword — Steve Kelley leaves KNUS; Radio World — Colorado’s 2026 Broadcast Hall of Fame class; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KIMN Radio.