PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: People

  • Steve Downes

    Steve Downes was general manager of KYZX-FM 104.5 in Pueblo in 1997. If you listened to country on 104.5 that year, Steve was running the business side of the station.

    Managing KYZX

    The 1997 Radio Business Report Source Guide lists Steve as general manager of KYZX, which was operated by PolarComm Corporation at the time. The listing is a single-year snapshot, so it doesn’t tell us how long he stayed or what he did next.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing. If you worked with Steve or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Norm Smith

    Norm Smith was one of the people keeping Pueblo radio on the air. If you listened to KYZX country at 104.5 or KRRU on 1480 in the late 1990s, Norm was the chief engineer behind the signal.

    Engineering in the 1990s

    In 1997, an industry directory listed Norm as chief engineer for both KRRU-AM 1480 and country station KYZX-FM 104.5, two separate Pueblo operations. That listing is a snapshot, so it doesn’t tell us how long he stayed at either one.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing. If you worked with Norm or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Rita Orozco

    Rita Orozco was program director of KRRU-AM 1480 in Pueblo in 1997. If you tuned in to Spanish-language radio in Pueblo that year, Rita was shaping what you heard.

    Spanish-language radio in Pueblo

    The 1997 Radio Business Report Source Guide lists KRRU as a Spanish-language station affiliated with CBS Hispanic. It names Rita alongside general manager and general sales manager Julio Gutierrez and chief engineer Norm Smith. The listing is a single-year snapshot, so it doesn’t tell us about her wider career.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing. If you worked with Rita or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Julio Gutierrez

    Julio Gutierrez was a Pueblo radio executive tied to Spanish-language KRRU-AM 1480 in the 1990s. If your family listened to Spanish-language radio in Pueblo back then, KRRU was one of the stations on the dial, and Julio was running it.

    Running KRRU

    The 1997 Radio Business Report Source Guide lists Julio as both general manager and general sales manager of KRRU, which was operated by Ventana Enterprises. That put him over the station’s day-to-day operation and its advertising side at the same time. The listing confirms his roles in 1997 but doesn’t tell us how long he held them.

    This is a short page built from one directory listing. If you worked with Julio or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Diane Young

    Diane Young was a radio sales executive in Pueblo, listed as general sales manager of KRMX-AM 690 for much of the mid-1990s. If you heard a local Pueblo business advertise on KRMX back then, Diane’s team was likely behind it.

    Leading sales at KRMX

    Industry station directories for 1994, 1996 and 1997 all list Diane as KRMX’s general sales manager, and describe KRMX as a variety-format station. Showing up in several years’ worth of listings tells us she was a steady presence in the station’s commercial leadership, though the directories don’t say when she started or left.

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

    Sources

  • Jerry De La Cruz

    Jerry De La Cruz was a Pueblo radio executive, programmer and engineer tied to KRMX-AM 690 in the 1990s. If you tuned in to KRMX back then, one person was running the business, the playlist and the transmitter.

    Wearing three hats

    A 1997 industry source guide lists Jerry as KRMX’s general manager, program director and chief engineer all at once. That kind of triple duty was common at small, independently run stations, where one person’s hands were on nearly everything you heard. The listing confirms those roles in 1997, though it doesn’t tell us how long he held them.

    This is a short page built from a single directory listing. If you worked with Jerry or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • Dave Grande

    Dave Grande is a radio host and promotions pro whose Southern Colorado work started at classic-rock KKFM in Colorado Springs. If you drove home with 98.1 KKFM on in the fall of 2021, Dave was the one keeping you company in the afternoon.

    Afternoons at 98.1 KKFM

    Cumulus Media announced on August 16, 2021 that Dave was joining 98.1 KKFM to take the afternoon-drive shift and oversee promotions. Hartford, Connecticut was his previous stop, at Full Power Radio, where he did air shifts, ran promotions and worked live events.

    Sources

  • Derreck D-Rock Rusch

    Derreck “D-Rock” Rusch was a KKMG 98.9 Magic FM personality, promotions director and program director during the Cumulus era. If you drove home with Magic FM in Colorado Springs in the early 2010s, D-Rock was likely the voice in your car.

    From afternoons to program director

    By 2012 D-Rock was handling afternoon drive and promotions at KKMG. That June, Cumulus promoted him to program director. Before Magic FM he’d worked at 95.5 The Beat and Kiss 104.1 in Atlanta, Power 97.5 in Houston and several Wisconsin stations.

    His promotion put him in KKMG’s programming lineage after the Citadel era and during the early Cumulus years.

    Sources

    • Colorado Springs Gazette: June 30, 2012 (print)

  • Tim Kiley

    Tim Kiley was a Colorado Springs Top 40 personality on KYSN 1460 during the station’s late-1960s and early-1970s peak. If you spent your lunch hour with KYSN back then, he was one of the voices you heard.

    Middays at KYSN

    A 1973 station profile listed Tim in the 10 a.m.–2 p.m. shift. Former staff remember him as part of a lineup that included Gregor Vaule, Gene Austin Knight and other local personalities, at a time when KYSN was one of the market’s dominant music stations. Colleagues also recall that he later moved to KDZA in Pueblo.

    This is a short page built from a station profile and staff recollections. If you worked with Tim or have more to add, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

    • 1973 radio-industry station profile (print)
    • KYSN alumni recollections, RadioDiscussions

  • Charlie Brown

    Charlie Brown was a Colorado Springs businessman and radio owner who helped launch KILO‘s album-rock era. If you grew up rocking out to KILO in the Springs, his ownership is where that sound started.

    Starting KILO

    When the former KPIK-FM was split from its AM sister in 1978, the FM took the KILO name and an album-oriented rock format. Trade coverage and later KILO histories name Charlie as a principal in KILO Broadcasting alongside Robert “Bob” Telmosse. A 25th-anniversary look back at KILO recalled that the station’s previous owner offered the FM to Charlie and Bob as the KPIK operation was being divided.

    Selling to Bahakel

    KILO Broadcasting sold the station to Bahakel Communications in 1984. Under Bahakel, KILO moved to active rock in 1991, and program director Rich Hawk stayed at the helm for 27 years, until his death in 2013.

    Sources

    • Wikipedia: KILO
    • Radio & Records, “25 Years of KILO,” 2003 (print)
    • FCC transaction records