KVNF-FM

KVNF-FM, the Paonia-based public-radio station that serves the western Colorado mountains under the name KVNF Community Radio.

Origins: In 1977, station founder Campbell Stanton and local volunteers surveyed the North Fork Valley about establishing community radio. The community response led to fundraising and incorporation as North Fork Valley Public Radio, Inc. on January 27, 1978. Stanton and volunteers converted his garage on Garvin Mesa, northeast of Paonia, into the first studio and installed a used 10-watt transmitter. KVNF broadcast its first program on October 5, 1979, after FCC approval.

Growth and service: KVNF grew from 10 watts to 500 and then 3,000 watts, adding full-power repeaters and translators throughout the Western Slope. The station’s own account credits KVNF’s negotiations with NPR with helping create an auxiliary membership category affordable to small and rural stations. In 2006, KVNF expanded local news and moved into a renovated 6,000-square-foot “green” facility on Grand Avenue in Paonia. More than 80 community volunteers have contributed to its varied music programming; in 2019, KVNF began construction of Studio M in Montrose.

Station information

2024 CBA Awards: Award of Excellence: Best Public Affairs Program, “Colorado Medical Providers Discuss Medical Missions in Ukraine, Gaza” (Laura Palmisano), and Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast, “KVNF’s Regional Newscast: September 24, 2024” (Lisa Young); Certificates of Merit: Best Public Affairs Program, “Billy Goat Hop Farm” (Lisa Young), and Best News Coverage of a Single Event, “Musicians gather in Lake City to keep a tradition alive” (Laura Palmisano). Official CBA 2024 results.

2023 CBA Awards: Award of Excellence: Best Public Affairs Program, “Local Motion: Latiné stories by KVNF” (Cassie Knust and Laura Palmisano). Certificate of Merit: Best Public Affairs Program, “Local Motion: Meet a Male Midwife” (Laura Palmisano). Official CBA 2023 results.

Sources: KVNF, station history; KVNF, About; KVNF, contact and Paonia location; Colorado Gives Foundation, KVNF community service profile; FCC public inspection file, KVNF.