PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: People

  • Mercedes Howard (Ya Girl Cedes)

    Mercedes Howard, known on air as Ya Girl Cedes, is a radio personality and podcast host whose Colorado career includes KQKS-FM (KS107.5) and 104.7 The Drop. If you caught hip-hop and R&B nights or mornings on KS107.5 in the 2010s, you know her voice.

    KS107.5

    Mercedes grew up in a broadcasting family and came to Denver at age 21. She became one of the comparatively few African-American women at the time to host her own show on a major-market hip-hop station, taking over nights at KS107.5 in 2010. She later moved to the station’s morning show before leaving in 2018.

    The Drop

    She then joined The Drop, Colorado public media’s R&B and hip-hop service.

    Podcasting

    Mercedes created and hosts The Black Millennial Mom, a show about parenting, culture and the experiences of Black millennial mothers.

    Sources

  • DJ Bedz

    Cassidy Bednark, known professionally as DJ Bedz or The White Shadow, is a Denver radio mixer, club DJ and sports-arena DJ. If you’ve caught a Nuggets game in person or heard a mix show on Denver’s Top 40 stations, you’ve probably heard his work.

    Colorado radio career

    Bedz started mixing part-time on KQKS-FM (KS107.5) in 2001. His Denver radio work later included Hot 107.1, KPTT-FM (95.7 The Party) and satellite radio, with recurring programs such as White Shadow Radio and weekday mix features.

    Sports and community work

    In 2002 Bedz became the official DJ of the Denver Nuggets, a role he held for fifteen seasons. He also spent five seasons as the University of Colorado DJ for football and men’s basketball. His mixtape projects have supported Colorado causes including SafeHouse Denver.

    Sources

  • DJ Chonz

    Mario Rodriguez, known professionally as DJ Chonz, is a DJ, radio personality, educator and community organizer in Denver. If you grew up listening to KS107.5 in Denver in the 2000s, you probably heard him mixing live.

    Colorado radio career

    Chonz, who is from Denver, arrived at KQKS-FM (KS107.5) in 2001 and made history as the first Denver DJ to do live mixing over commercial airwaves. At KS107.5 he worked on mix shows, nights and afternoons, and had a part in the station’s morning program. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, his shows topped the ratings among younger listeners, both locally and nationally.

    Music, sports and community work

    He has played sets for big Colorado sports crowds, started the Denver DJ School to pass on the craft, and set up the DJ Chonz Foundation, which links young people to opportunities in music, culture and education.

    Where is DJ Chonz now?

    As of October 2026, Chonz is still active as a DJ, educator and mentor via Denver DJ School, Lake Knight Radio and his foundation.

    Sources

  • Larry Ulibarri

    Larry Ulibarri is a Denver radio personality best known for the long-running KS107.5 morning show with Kathie J and Kendall B. If you spent your Denver mornings with KS107.5 any time from 2001 on, you know Larry.

    KS107.5 mornings

    Larry worked behind the scenes at the station during its Mix 107.5 era, then became part of KQKS-FM‘s morning show after the move to the KS107.5 name. From 2001 through March 2017, Larry, Kathie J and Kendall B were the longest-running morning team in the station’s history.

    After KS107.5

    When he left KS107.5, Larry and Kathie J started an online station, then returned to over-the-air radio doing mornings on 107.1. His later work includes the Colorado-focused digital brand I’m From Denver.

    Where is Larry now?

    As of October 2026, Larry is still tied to I’m From Denver and shows up in Colorado media and community projects.

    Sources

  • Andre Hughes

    Andre Hughes is one of the people who keeps Denver radio on the air. You never hear him on the dial, but if you’ve listened to a big Denver station over the past couple of decades, his work was part of getting it to your speakers.

    Jacor and Clear Channel Denver

    Andre worked as a studio and remote technician and engineer in Denver during the Jacor and Clear Channel era, starting with Jacor in the late 1990s and continuing with Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) from 1999 into the 2000s. His job supported the whole Denver cluster rather than one station, a group that included KOA-AM, KHOW-AM, KBPI-FM, KRFX-FM, KBCO-FM and KTCL-FM.

    Teaching the next crowd

    Andre later served as technical director at Colorado Media School, where students train in radio, television, audio production and digital media.

    Where is he now?

    As of October 2026, Andre works in IT for Audacy’s Denver operation, home to KALC-FM, KQKS-FM and KQMT-FM.

    Sources

  • Chas Marini

    Chas Marini is a Denver broadcast engineer and technical-operations leader. You never hear Chas on the air, but if you’ve listened to Audacy’s Denver stations, you’ve heard his work, because he helps keep the signal clean and the studios running.

    The engineering side of Colorado radio

    Chas works in technical operations for Audacy as a director of technical operations in the Denver area. That means the transmitters, studios, network systems and production technology that get programming from the booth to your radio, phone or smart speaker.

    This is a short page built from public professional listings. If you’ve worked with Chas or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Jim Hudson

    Jim Hudson is a Colorado radio and television broadcaster, traffic reporter and voice professional. If you’ve checked Denver traffic on TV or planned a weekend drive up I-70, you may have heard his voice.

    Denver radio

    Jim worked at KEZW-AM in Denver, a heritage Denver radio stop in a career that later became closely associated with traffic reporting and voice work.

    Traffic and television

    By 2015 Jim had about twenty-five years in broadcasting, including fifteen years reporting traffic on Denver television. His work has also included radio hosting, commercial voiceover and independent media production.

    In 2015 the Colorado Department of Transportation selected Jim and Nia Bender to host I-70 Mountain Travel Radio, a live weekend service broadcasting road conditions and travel information from CDOT’s Traffic Operations Center.

    Sources

  • Steve Hamilton

    Steve Hamilton is a Colorado radio programmer, personality and broadcast meteorologist whose Denver career included KOSI-FM and KHIH-FM.

    Colorado radio career

    Hamilton served as program director at KOSI 101.1 and later became closely associated with KHIH-FM, Denver’s contemporary-jazz station known as K-High. When the 101.9 FM signal was sold and the terrestrial format ended in 2010, Hamilton helped keep K-High’s identity alive as an online stream.

    Weather broadcasting

    A longtime weather enthusiast, Hamilton earned a communications degree from Colorado State University, studied meteorology at Mississippi State University and received the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval in 2008. His later work has included radio weather reports and storm chasing.

    Sources

  • Nikki Swarn

    Nikki Swarn is a Colorado radio executive, programmer, on-air personality and educator, and on the air she also goes by Amerykah Jones.

    A first for Colorado radio

    Swarn is the first African-American woman to run a radio station as general manager in Colorado.

    Colorado radio career

    Her Colorado broadcasting resume runs past two decades and includes commercial stops at KQKS-FM, KYGO-FM, Alice 105.9 and ESPN Radio. Then she moved to public media as founding general manager and program director of 104.7 The Drop (KUVO-HD2), where she helped turn an R&B and hip-hop service into a community station people across the country paid attention to. Later she was also general manager of KUVO Jazz.

    Recognition and education

    Away from the mic, she has taught music and entertainment studies at the University of Colorado Denver and has held a civic arts leadership role.

    Where is Nikki Swarn now?

    As of October 2026, her public biographies describe her as a media-impact executive, educator and arts advocate. She is a former general manager of KUVO and The Drop, and she co-chairs the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs.

    Sources

  • Steve Marshall

    Steve Marshall is a Denver radio personality and programmer whose Colorado career includes KIMN-FM (Mix 100) and KOSI-FM (KOSI 101.1).

    Colorado radio career

    Marshall’s time at Mix 100 lasted seven years, and during it he was both the program director and an on-air personality in the afternoons. He then left in October 2024 for KOSI 101.1, where he sits next to Jenny D as a co-host on Jenny and Friends, the station’s live weekday morning program.

    On the KOSI side, his work includes lifestyle segments driven by listeners, entertainment interviews and features about the community. The station’s own public bio for him also points to his advocacy for men’s mental health.

    Where is Steve Marshall now?

    Marshall is still co-hosting Jenny and Friends on KOSI 101.1 as of October 2026, weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m.

    Sources