Nina Blanco

Nina Blanco is a Denver radio personality, music director and morning-show host whose career has taken her from Illinois to St. Louis and across several Colorado stations. In 2026, Mix 100 described her promotion as making her the first Hispanic woman to lead a morning show on a major commercial FM station in the Denver market.

Early career

Raised in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, Blanco began working in radio immediately after high school. Her first station was WCIL-FM in Carbondale, Illinois. In 2015, she joined Emmis Top 40 station KNOU/Now 96.3 in St. Louis for nights and later advanced to morning co-host. That period established her in a major-market morning format and helped build the live-event experience she later brought to Denver.

Colorado radio

After moving to Colorado, Blanco worked middays at Max Media hip-hop station KFCO/Flo 107.1. She later co-hosted mornings at iHeartMedia’s KPTT/95.7 The Party, expanding her Denver profile.

Blanco joined KSE Radio Ventures’ KIMN/Mix 100 in 2023. She initially worked middays and served as Marketing Coordinator. In September 2024, she moved from a 2–4 p.m. shift into full afternoon drive, 3–7 p.m. She added Music Director responsibilities in November 2024 and subsequently signed an extension keeping her with Mix 100 through 2027.

Morning radio and industry work

On Sept. 8, 2026, Mix 100 launched Denver’s Morning Show with Blanco and Josh Griesemer, moving Blanco from afternoons to the 6–10 a.m. program. KSE said the appointment made her the first Hispanic woman to lead a morning show on a major commercial FM station in Denver. Blanco framed the milestone in terms of representation, saying she hoped a young listener anywhere in Colorado might hear her and imagine doing the same work.

Blanco is also known within the industry as an emcee of Morning Show Boot Camp. In 2023, she and Ryan Smetzer became the long-running conference’s first official emcees.

Awards and recognition

Blanco won the Colorado Broadcasters Association’s Best Afternoon Show award in consecutive years, for 2024 and 2025. The honors recognized her Mix 100 afternoon program before her move to mornings.

Where is she now?

As of October 2026, Blanco co-hosts Denver’s Morning Show on KIMN/Mix 100 from 6–10 a.m. and remains part of the station’s programming operation as Music Director.

Sources

• Mix 100: Nina Blanco official biography
• RAMP: “New Morning Mixture at Mix 100” (Sept. 8, 2026)
• Radio Online: contract extension through 2027
• Morning Show Boot Camp: first official conference emcees