Dan “Captain Dan” Jackson was a Colorado Springs radio personality whose career crossed AM Top 40, FM morning radio and weekend programming.
Jackson’s Colorado Springs work at KYSN dates to at least 1978, when The Gavin Report announced his promotion to program director. A 1979 Broadcasting report also identified him as KYSN’s program director. In 1980 he hired Gary Street for Street’s first professional radio job.
Later career records place Jackson at KSSS and KVUU. Former KSSS morning host Tony Lynn recalls Jackson handlingafternoons and programming at KSSS during the 1980s before moving “across the hall” to KVUU; Lynn then took over as KSSS program director. Jackson later became part of his long-running K-Lite/KKLI morning partnership with Paul Richards and Renae Roberts. The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that Jackson and Richards received a lifetime achievement award for their years as local radio personalities. Jackson left iHeartMedia in May 2017, then returned to Colorado Springs radio in 2018 as a weekend host at Peak FM.
In December 2024, trade coverage listed Jackson among the weekender departures from Peak FM. No later station role has been confirmed.
Colorado Springs stations: KYSN, KSSS, KVUU, KKLI/K-Lite, KKPK/Peak FM.
Documented roles: KYSN program director; KVUU and KKLI personality; long-running morning host; Peak FM weekend host.
Sources
- The Gavin Report, November 3, 1978 — promotion to program director at KYSN.
- Broadcasting, October 1, 1979 — KYSN program-director listing.
- Colorado Springs Gazette, December 4, 2009 — Jackson hiring Gary Street at KYSN in 1980.
- 440 International, radio-career directory: Dan Jackson — KSSS, KVUU and KKLI chronology.
- Colorado Springs Gazette, March 31, 2018 — K-Lite partnership, 2017 departure and return to Peak FM.
- Barrett Media, December 6, 2024 — report of Jackson’s departure as a Peak FM weekender.
- Tony Lynn, first-person oral-history contribution to the Colorado Radio Archive, October 2026 — KSSS afternoon/programming role and move to KVUU.
Awards & Recognitions
Documented awards, honors, and finalist or nomination recognition associated with this station or broadcaster.
- 2017Silver winnerThe Gazette — Best of the SpringsRadio PersonalityCaptain Dan Jackson with Tammy OaklandThe Gazette: Captain Dan returns
- 2010Lifetime Achievement AwardThe Gazette — Best of the SpringsBest Radio PersonalitiesCaptain Dan Jackson and Paul RichardsThe Gazette: Best of the Springs winners
Stations They Worked At
FROM THE TIMELINE
Career Moments
1980: Captain Dan Jackson hires Gary Street at KYSN
1980 — While attending Pikes Peak Community College's broadcasting program, Gary Street begins his radio career at KYSN 1460 AM. Captain Dan Jackson hires Street for his first professional radio job.
1980: Dan Jackson programs KYSN’s late Top 40 era
1980 — KYSN 1460 AM's staff is documented in the national Fred Directory of Radio during the station's final years as a major Colorado Springs Top 40 outlet. Dan Jackson serves as Program Director and 9 a.m.-noon host; Tom Brewer is Music Director; Hal Tatel is News Director. The weekday lineup also includes Jennifer Bell, Rick Elliott, Joe Myers and Paul Kavanaugh.
1986: Captain Dan Jackson moves from KSSS to KVUU
1986 — Captain Dan Jackson's documented career chronology places him at KSSS from 1984-1987 and KVUU from 1986-1999, making him a bridge between the paired stations and the Bobby Irwin era and KVUU's later 1990s morning-show history.
2014: K-Lite 106.3 becomes Sunny 106.3
November 2014 — iHeartMedia rebrands longtime Colorado Springs adult-contemporary station KKLI/K-Lite 106.3 as Sunny 106.3. The station immediately begins its annual Christmas-music presentation before returning to adult contemporary after Christmas.
2017: Captain Dan Jackson leaves Sunny 106.3
May 2017 — Captain Dan Jackson leaves iHeartMedia's Sunny 106.3/KKLI after a decades-long run in Colorado Springs radio. Jackson had been paired with Paul Richards for years and later with Tammy Oakland; Jackson and Oakland won a Best of the Springs silver medal shortly before his departure.
2018: Captain Dan Jackson returns on Peak FM
March 31, 2018 — After nearly a year away from local radio, Captain Dan Jackson returns to the Colorado Springs airwaves on 92.9 Peak FM, hosting weekend mornings. The move extends a Southern Colorado radio career that began in the 1980s.
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