Rick Crandall

Rick Crandall is a longtime Denver broadcaster and veterans advocate whose three-decade tenure at KEZW made him one of the most durable personalities in Colorado radio.

An Air Force veteran, Crandall entered Colorado radio at KOSI in the late 1980s, first working part-time and later becoming a full-time personality and program director. In 1991 he moved to KEZW 1430 AM, originally expecting the assignment to last only a few months. Instead, Crandall became the station’s morning host and program director for 30 years, building a close relationship with an audience drawn to the station’s adult-standards and nostalgia programming.

His broadcasts became especially associated with veterans and military history. A 2000 Memorial Day broadcast from the Normandy American Cemetery led Crandall to investigate how many Coloradans had died in military service and ultimately inspired the Colorado Freedom Memorial. The memorial was dedicated in Aurora in 2013.

Crandall’s KEZW run ended in January 2021 when the station abandoned its longtime music format for sports betting. By then he had received numerous civic and broadcasting honors, including the Colorado Broadcasters Association’s Broadcaster of the Year award.

Where Are They Now?

As of October 2026: Crandall is CEO of the Colorado Freedom Memorial Foundation and remains active in Colorado media and veterans projects. He also co-hosts Behind the Wings, the podcast of Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. In September 2026 he returned to Denver radio as a guest for an extended retrospective on his broadcasting career and the continuing development of the Colorado Freedom Memorial.

Sources: Wings Over the Rockies — Meet Rick Crandall; Colorado Freedom Memorial — Rick Crandall; Colorado Freedom Memorial — History; Westword — Crandall and the end of KEZW; The Jeff and Bill Show — September 2026 interview.