People - Page 77 of 78 - Colorado Radio Archive

Charlie

Charlie is a Southern Colorado radio personality on KDZA‘s classic-hits lineup. If you’re in Pueblo or Colorado Springs and have the radio on at lunchtime, there’s a good chance he’s keeping you company.

Midday on KDZA

Charlie’s midday show includes a locally branded feature called Charlie’s Tea, part of KDZA’s return to a live, local sound.

Where is Charlie now?

As of October 2026, KDZA’s schedule has Charlie on from noon to 3 p.m. on weekdays and again on Saturdays, serving Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Kevin Hayes

Kevin Hayes is a Southern Colorado radio personality and operations manager at the revived KDZA classic-hits service. If you tune in to KDZA on the drive home from work in Pueblo or Colorado Springs, that’s Kevin.

Coming to KDZA

Before joining the Pueblo-based station, Kevin worked in radio markets around the country, bringing that experience to KDZA’s local lineup.

Awards

The Colorado Broadcasters Association credited Kevin as producer of KDZA-AM‘s “Hot Rod Stampede,” winner of Best Radio Commercial for an Advertiser in its 2024 major-market awards. In 2025 he and Coba Hoban earned a Certificate of Merit in the same category for “KDZA Commercial Discount Motors.”

Where is he now?

As of October 2026, KDZA’s schedule lists Kevin on weekday afternoons from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Coba

Coba Hoban is a Colorado Springs radio personality who has been on a lot of Springs dials. If you’ve listened to mornings or middays in the Pikes Peak region over the past twenty years, you’ve likely heard her.

Springs stations

Coba’s Southern Colorado work has included KCCY, KVUU, KRXP, KATC and KKMG. In August 2006 she and Darren McKee were the co-hosts of KVUU’s morning show as Craig Coffey got ready to leave. By 2011 the Colorado Broadcasters Association’s radio awards listed “Mornings with Steve and Coba” for KRXP, and trade coverage later documented her work at KKMG and KATC.

Awards

In 2025 the CBA gave a Certificate of Merit for Best Radio Commercial for an Advertiser to “KDZA Commercial Discount Motors,” credited to Kevin Hayes and Coba.

Where is she now?

In November 2024 Coba joined KDZA‘s 9 a.m. to noon weekday lineup as the station introduced its classic-hits format in Colorado Springs. As of October 2026, KDZA’s official schedule still lists her in that slot, with a show focused on local happenings in the Pikes Peak region.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Michael Galer

Michael M. Galer owned KDZA in the second half of the 1970s and helped launch its FM sister station. If you grew up on Pueblo radio in the late 70s, you were listening to a station he bought from a very different line of work.

A Boston business writer buys KDZA

Trade reports described Michael as a Boston-area business writer, realtor and documentary-film producer when he bought KDZA and its FM construction permit from Roger Brandt in 1975 for $410,000.

Launching KZLO

Under his ownership, the 100.7 FM facility signed on as KZLO in 1976. Directories of the time list KDZA and KZLO together, with Michael as general manager. He later looked at more FM ownership opportunities before selling the Pueblo operation to Tony Spicola.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Roger Brandt

Roger P. Brandt owned and operated KDZA during one of the most important stretches in the station’s history. If you grew up on Pueblo rock and roll in the late 1960s and early ’70s, you grew up on a station he stood behind.

From Michigan to Pueblo

Roger started in radio at age 14 at his father’s station, WCEN in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where he hosted an evening rock-and-roll show and later worked in programming. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1963.

Owning KDZA

Roger and Diana Brandt bought KDZA in the mid-1960s. Roger strongly backed the station’s rock format and its young air staff, even when the music drew criticism. Vintage KDZA history credits him with growing the station’s community involvement, strengthening its newsroom and using regular editorial-comment segments to build credibility.

He served as president of the Colorado Association of Broadcasters in 1970-71 and held many civic leadership roles in Pueblo. In 1975 he sold KDZA and its FM construction permit to Michael Galer.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Dee Crouch

Dee B. Crouch is the man who put KDZA on the air in Pueblo. If your family listened to 1230 AM in the 1950s or the “Rock of Pueblo” in the ’60s, it all started with him.

KDZA

Dee led the group that formed Pueblo Radio Company and signed on KDZA on December 29, 1947. Mid-century Broadcasting Yearbook listings show him wearing a lot of hats: president, general manager, programming and promotion executive, chief engineer and commercial manager.

Pueblo’s first TV station

Dee also brought Pueblo its first television station. KDZA-TV started regular programming in March 1953, but a damaged relay tower and the cost of operating without a network connection contributed to the station going dark in April 1954, and its authorization was later deleted.

The move to rock and roll

Under Dee, KDZA made its famous 1964 turn to rock and roll after disc jockey Steve Scott talked him into changing formats. Vintage KDZA history credits him with owning the station from 1947 through 1966, which covers the birth of the “Rock of Pueblo” era.

A 1992 Pueblo Chieftain family notice names Dee and his wife Edith as KDZA’s first owners, living in Rye, Colorado, and San Diego. A death-index entry for Dee B. Crouch of San Diego gives October 12, 1995, at age 89.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Cliff Hendrix

Cliff Hendrix was one of Pueblo radio’s best-known mid-century broadcasters and a longtime KCSJ personality and manager. If your family tuned in KCSJ in 1950s or 1960s Pueblo, his was a name you knew.

Moving up at KCSJ

The 1955 Broadcasting Yearbook listed Cliff as KCSJ’s program and farm director. By 1957 he was radio director, and by 1966 he had become general manager. Trade advertising still identified him as KCSJ manager later in the 1960s.

Colorado Hayride

Cliff was also a visible local entertainer. He served as master of ceremonies for the Colorado Hayride, the live country-music program featuring Buddy Johnson and the Colorado Rangers, and he appeared with Johnson at community events and on KCSJ television.

Sources

Broadcasting Yearbook, 1955
Broadcasting Yearbook, 1957
Broadcasting Yearbook, 1966
Buddy Johnson family archive: Colorado Hayride, Barn Dance & Western Star Theatre
Buddy Johnson family archive: 1940s–1960s radio photographs and recollections
Broadcasting magazine, 1966 issues and classified pages (print)

September 25, 2026

Buddy Johnson

William “Buddy” Johnson was a Pueblo radio and TV entertainer, Western-music host and bandleader. If your family tuned in to Western music in Pueblo in the late ’40s and ’50s, you probably knew Buddy and his Colorado Rangers.

On the Pueblo airwaves

Buddy began his Pueblo radio work in the late 1940s at KGHF and KDZA, then joined KCSJ. His family’s archive documents his daily Western-music program, evening broadcasts with the Colorado Rangers and the live audiences who sent in requests.

Television and the band

Buddy also worked on KCSJ television, including the Pueblo Barn Dance, the children’s Adventurer’s Club and Western music shows. His programs brought regional music into homes and studio audiences, while the Colorado Rangers played dances and community events.

Remembered

Buddy died in Pueblo on December 5, 1986, at age 67.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Nick Donovan

Nick Donovan is a Pueblo guy who’s been waking up Southern Colorado for years. If you’ve started your day with KDZA, or hunted for the Jingle Bell Rock prize at Christmas, you know his voice.

Pueblo mornings and programming

Nick became a familiar Pueblo morning personality over many years and also worked as a program director in the market. A 1996 industry guide lists him in a Pueblo programming role, and later directory records show him as program director of KDZA-FM/Jet 107.9 under Clear Channel ownership.

The Mountain, then back to KDZA

He later hosted mornings on KPHT/95.5 The Mountain. After leaving iHeartMedia in 2023, Nick became a key on-air voice of the revived KDZA 1230/101.9, hosting Mornings with Nick.

Jingle Bell Rock

Nick is also closely tied to Pueblo’s long-running Jingle Bell Rock scavenger hunt. Local coverage says he became the voice of the promotion in the 1980s and helped keep the tradition going for a new generation.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Richard Randall

Richard Randall is a Colorado Springs talk-radio host whose career has taken him from TV reporting to radio news to long-form local talk. If you want to know what’s happening in Colorado Springs and Southern Colorado, odds are you’ve tuned in to his morning show.

The road to KVOR

Richard started his broadcasting career in Illinois, where he also worked as a trial lawyer. After moving to Colorado Springs he was a reporter at KKTV, then moved into radio news and talk at KVOR.

The Richard Randall Show

On AM 740 KVOR, Richard built a weekday local-issues program focused on Colorado Springs and Southern Colorado. He’s also hosted community forums and special events for the station, including its “Newsapalooza” gatherings in 2009 and 2010. The Colorado Broadcasters Association’s 2009 awards placed The Richard Randall Show second in the major-market Best News/Talk Broadcast Personality or Talk Show category.

Where is he now?

As of October 2026, Richard is still part of KVOR’s local weekday lineup, on the air from 8 to 10 a.m. Missed it live? The Richard Randall Show is also an on-demand podcast on iHeart, digging into Colorado politics, election officials and ballot measures.

Sources

September 25, 2026

Archives: People

Midday on KDZA

Where is Charlie now?

Sources

Coming to KDZA

Awards

Where is he now?

Sources

Springs stations

Awards

Where is she now?

Sources

A Boston business writer buys KDZA

Launching KZLO

Sources

From Michigan to Pueblo

Owning KDZA

Sources

KDZA

Pueblo’s first TV station

The move to rock and roll

Sources

Moving up at KCSJ

Colorado Hayride

Sources

On the Pueblo airwaves

Television and the band

Remembered

Sources

Pueblo mornings and programming

The Mountain, then back to KDZA

Jingle Bell Rock

Sources

The road to KVOR

The Richard Randall Show

Where is he now?

Sources