Jim Bedford, who wrote as “B.F. Deal,” was one of the Telluride locals who put KOTO on the air in 1975.
KOTO
In 1974 Telluride could barely pick up any radio. Bedford was part of what he called an “odd assortment of local folks” who formed a nonprofit, got an FCC construction permit for a 10-watt FM station, and talked the Town Council into $10,000 for equipment over two years. KOTO was legally established on October 3, 1975, and got on the air within six months of the permit. Bedford and a partner named Greene drove around town in a pickup truck testing the reception.
He wrote up the station’s history for Telluride Inside in 2009, by which time KOTO had been broadcasting for 34 years with more than 200 volunteer DJs.
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KOTO, Telluride’s community radio station, is founded
October 3, 1975 — A group of Telluride locals, including Jim “B.F. Deal” Bedford, legally established KOTO, a 10-watt nonprofit FM station, to fix the town's terrible radio reception. The Town Council put $10,000 toward equipment, and the station was on the air within six months of its FCC permit.
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