PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: People

  • Renae Roberts

    Renae Roberts is a Colorado Springs radio voice who has been on your morning dial in more than one form. If you woke up to K-Lite 106.3 in the early 2000s, or KRDO NewsRadio more recently, you’ve likely heard her.

    KVUU and the K-Lite morning show

    Renae returned to Colorado Springs in 1995 and joined KVUU, starting as the “Stunt Girl” on Captain Dan Jackson and Paul Richards‘ morning show, then took on overnights, mornings, middays, production and traffic. In 1999 she joined the two of them full-time on the KKLI 106.3 morning show, and the trio stayed together for roughly six years. A 2004 Gazette photo shows the three as the K-Lite morning team.

    Web work, then back on the air

    Around 2005 Renae moved into the Clear Channel cluster’s website and internet services work, staying until 2011. She returned to the air at KKFM in 2013 and joined KVOR mornings in 2014.

    KRDO NewsRadio

    In February 2017 she became morning co-anchor on KRDO NewsRadio, succeeding her longtime friend and former K-Lite colleague Paul Richards after his death in December 2016.

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  • Paul Richards

    Paul Richards, whose real name was Paul Mundt, was a Colorado Springs radio fixture for more than 30 years. If you woke up to KKLI 106.3 in the 2000s, you spent mornings with him.

    Building a Springs career

    Paul’s Southern Colorado music-radio career included KSSS, KVUU, KKLI and KCSJ. The 1992 Broadcasting Yearbook lists him as news director of KSSS/KVUU, alongside program director Rick Morgan.

    The morning team

    At KVUU, Paul became part of the morning show with Captain Dan Jackson. Renae Roberts remembers joining Captain Dan and Paul as the station’s “Stunt Girl” after arriving in 1995. In 1999 the three moved together into full-time mornings on KKLI 106.3 and became one of the Springs’ best-known morning teams. Paul and Captain Dan racked up so many Best of the Springs honors that The Gazette gave them a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

    News/talk and remembrance

    Paul later moved to news/talk at KCSJ and then KRDO NewsRadio, where he co-anchored mornings and delivered TV traffic reports for about four years. He died on December 11, 2016, at age 55, and was remembered as a well-known Southern Colorado broadcaster and community volunteer.

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  • Captain Dan Jackson

    Dan “Captain Dan” Jackson was a Colorado Springs radio fixture for decades. If you grew up with AM Top 40, woke up to K-Lite, or caught weekends on Peak FM, you probably heard him.

    KYSN and the early days

    Captain Dan was at KYSN by 1978, when The Gavin Report announced his promotion to program director, and a 1979 Broadcasting listing still has him in that job. In 1980 he hired Gary Street for Street’s first professional radio job.

    KSSS, KVUU and K-Lite

    Later career records put him at KSSS and KVUU. Former KSSS morning host Tony Lynn remembers Dan handling afternoons and programming at KSSS in the 1980s before moving “across the hall” to KVUU, after which Tony became KSSS program director. Dan then became part of the long-running K-Lite morning team on KKLI with Paul Richards and Renae Roberts, and he and Paul received a lifetime achievement award for their years on local radio.

    Peak FM

    He left iHeartMedia in May 2017, then came back to Colorado Springs radio in 2018 as a weekend host at Peak FM. His name appeared among Peak FM weekender departures in December 2024, and no later station role has been confirmed.

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  • Gary Street

    Gary Street (died August 11, 2011, age 54) was a Colorado Springs newsman whose voice delivered the day’s news on several Southern Colorado stations. If you got your news from KILO, KVOR or the Eagle, you heard Gary.

    Getting started

    Gary graduated from Palmer High School in 1975, served four years in the Air Force and enrolled in the broadcasting program at Pikes Peak Community College in 1979. In 1980, still a student, he got his first radio job at KYSN 1460 AM, hired by “Captain” Dan Jackson. He quickly became part of KYSN’s final Top 40 era, and in December 1982 the Gavin Report listed him as its Colorado Springs Top 40 correspondent, reporting the station’s music activity nationally. KYSN was fighting AM’s decline then; its 12+ share fell from 8.9 in 1980 to 4.8 in 1981 and 2.0 in 1982.

    A newsman’s path

    A 2009 Gazette profile gives dated checkpoints: news at KKCS and KHT in 1982, KILO in 1985, Denver’s KOA in 1993, then about five years back at KVOR, and KRXP (then The Eagle) in 1999. His final newscast was July 8, 2009.

    Honors and goodbye

    Former KILO boss Lou Mellini said Gary earned 15 Associated Press news recognitions, a June 1988 trade report says he won five Colorado Springs Press Association awards, and the press association honored him again in June 2010 for his contributions to broadcasting. He left daily broadcasting as Parkinson’s disease increasingly affected his work, and local broadcasters remembered him as a deeply respected colleague.

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  • Dan Hardee

    Dan Hardee is a Colorado-born radio personality, programmer, production director and event emcee whose career began in Pueblo and Colorado Springs and grew into major-market and nationally distributed work.

    Early life and first radio work

    Hardee was born in Colorado Springs. He has recalled becoming fascinated by radio at age seven after his father gave him a Marantz tuner; one of the first stations he connected with was KKLI 106.3. He began working on-air in October 2003 at KTSC-FM/Rev 89 while attending Colorado State University–Pueblo, first handling the 3–6 a.m. shift.

    He became KTSC-FM’s Production Director in 2004 and interned with the Clear Channel Colorado Springs cluster from March through December of that year. (Clear Channel renamed itself iHeartMedia in 2014, so you’ll see both names across this site.) In 2005 he became Student Station Manager and remained at Rev 89 until graduating in May 2006.

    Pueblo and Colorado Springs

    In July 2006, Hardee joined Clear Channel Pueblo as a promotions assistant while also operating a morning-show camera at KOAA-TV. His Colorado Springs commercial-radio on-air debut came Sept. 29, 2006 on KSPZ, where he initially worked Saturdays from 7 p.m. to midnight and later weekend afternoons.

    In January 2008, he moved to the 8 p.m.–midnight show on KKPK 92.9 Peak FM and became the station’s Promotions Director. By August 2008 he had added Assistant Program Director duties for KVOR. His work in Colorado also touched numerous formats and stations, including KVUU, KKLI, KMOM, KCCY, KKMG, KATC, KCSF, KKFM, KPHT, KDZA, KGHF and KCSJ.

    Denver and network radio

    Hardee left Citadel’s Colorado Springs operation in April 2011 to become Production Director for Wilks Broadcasting in Denver, serving KXKL/KOOL 105, KWOF/92.5 The Wolf and KIMN/Mix 100. Industry records place him with Westwood One from 2014–2015 and as an on-air host for Bonneville’s KYGO and KOSI from 2015–2016.

    Hardee left Wilks in May 2013. In August 2015, after being let go in a reduction in force at Westwood One, he joined Bonneville for weekend and swing shifts on KYGO and KOSI.

    In June 2016, he left Bonneville and joined KQMT/99.5 The Mountain as afternoon-drive host, replacing Dan Mitchell, who relocated to Texas. His role expanded to afternoons on Rochester, New York sister station WCMF 96.5 in April 2021. Audacy (the new name Entercom took in 2021) promoted him to Brand Manager of The Mountain in January 2022, a title that’s Audacy’s version of program director, and to Regional Brand Manager of Rochester’s WBZA/98.9 The Buzz that August.

    Hardee’s current show combines classic-rock music with recurring features such as “Totally Random Trivia,” “Bad Advice” and stories behind familiar songs. His work also reaches affiliates nationally through Local Radio Networks.

    Community work and recognition

    While Hardee was programming and hosting at The Mountain, KQMT won the 2024 NAB Marconi Award for Rock Station of the Year. This is a station honor rather than an individual award, but it marked a significant moment in his tenure. In 2025, his Veterans Day radiothon raised $35,000 for Project Sanctuary; a matching contribution brought the total to $70,000 for military families and veterans. He has also emceed the Angel Eyes “Suds for SIDS” Beerfest.

    Beyond broadcasting, Hardee taught audio production at CSU-Pueblo and has spent more than twenty years as a wedding and event DJ and emcee.

    Where is he now?

    As of October 2026, Hardee hosts weekday afternoons from 3–7 p.m. and serves as Program Director of 99.5 The Mountain in Denver. He also programs 98.9 The Buzz in Rochester, is heard on WCMF, and hosts a nationally distributed Classic Hits afternoon show for Local Radio Networks.

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  • Hosh

    Hosh is a Colorado Springs radio production staffer and on-air personality at 94.3 KILO. If you listen to KILO’s rock lineup, there’s a good chance Hosh is behind some of what you hear.

    Production and on-air work

    KILO’s staff biography lists Hosh with station production, and the station’s Rock Jocks roster also lists Hosh among its on-air personalities. Hosh’s bio page on the station’s site also links to local-music coverage and digital content, including the “Loud & Local Rewind” series spotlighting bands from the region.

    Where is Hosh now?

    As of October 2026, Hosh is listed on KILO’s official site.

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  • Dana Perino

    Dana Perino is the Fox News host and former White House press secretary who got her start on overnight radio in Pueblo. If you were up at 3 a.m. with Pueblo country on in the early ’90s, you may have heard her.

    Early broadcasting in Pueblo

    While studying mass communications at the University of Southern Colorado, now CSU Pueblo, Dana worked at campus TV station KTSC-TV and at KCCY-FM, where she took the 2 to 6 a.m. shift. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1994.

    Washington and Fox News

    Dana went on to work on Capitol Hill and in the George W. Bush administration. She was White House press secretary from September 2007 through January 2009, the second woman in that job, and later served on the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors. She joined Fox News in 2009 and has co-hosted The Five, co-anchored America’s Newsroom and hosted the Perino on Politics podcast. CSU Pueblo recognizes her as an alumna and had her give its 2023 commencement address.

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  • Guy Girtin

    Guy Girtin is a Southern Colorado broadcaster tied to the modern revival of KDZA in Pueblo. If you tune in for oldies and a groan-worthy joke in the afternoon, that’s Guy.

    Golden Afternoons

    Guy hosts Golden Afternoons on KDZA, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., with music facts and the recurring “Bad Dad Joke of the Day.”

    Sports and community

    He also handles sports broadcasts and station partnerships. Pueblo Community College named Guy, along with Nick Donovan and Dave West, as part of KDZA’s broadcast team for Pueblo’s historic Bell Game and Cannon Game high-school football rivalries.

    Award recognition

    At the 2025 CBA Awards, Guy was among the recipients of a Certificate of Merit for Best Sports Coverage for KDZA-AM’s Cannon Game coverage, alongside Brett Burke and Lee Truan.

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  • Caraigh Clarkson

    Caraigh Clarkson is a Southern Colorado broadcaster and marketing professional tied to KILO/KRXP and the revived KDZA. If you tune in to KDZA on weekdays at lunchtime, that’s her.

    KILO and KRXP

    Caraigh worked for Colorado Springs Radio Broadcasters/Bahakel Communications from 2016 until 2020 as a senior marketing consultant for KILO, selling and helping produce advertising for station clients. Court records from a later trademark proceeding document that role directly.

    Vintage Vibes on KDZA

    When KDZA came back to Pueblo in 2023, Caraigh became host of Vintage Vibes, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The show mixes classic music with stories from around Colorado’s Front Range.

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  • Lou Mellini

    Lou Mellini was one of the biggest names behind Colorado Springs rock radio. If you grew up with KILO 94.3 blasting from your car, you were hearing the station Lou built up for decades.

    Coming to the Springs

    Lou moved to Colorado Springs in 1978 and started in sales with KRDO‘s radio stations. In 1980 he joined KILO as sales manager, became station manager in 1982 and general manager in 1985. By March 1987 he was also a vice president of Bahakel Communications’ 13-station radio division, while still running KILO.

    Business radio, then back home

    In 1989 Lou left to become president and CEO of the Business Radio Network, an early satellite-delivered national business-radio venture. He returned to KILO in 1992 as vice president and general manager.

    KILO and KRXP

    When Bahakel picked up the Pueblo operation that became KRXP in 1999, Lou oversaw both stations. He stayed closely tied to them for decades and retired in 2017. Away from the microphone, he was active in Colorado Springs civic and charitable groups.

    Remembering Lou

    Lou died June 5, 2023, at age 82. KILO remembered him as a longtime leader who helped bridge the creative and business sides of radio.

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