KAJX-FM

KAJX-FM, Aspen Public Radio’s primary station in Aspen, Colorado, broadcasting at 91.5 MHz. KAJX is part of Roaring Fork Public Radio, Inc., the nonprofit organization behind Aspen Public Radio.

Origins: Aspen Public Radio dates its beginnings to 1980, when founder Sy Coleman formed Roaring Fork Public Radio Translator. In 1981, Coleman brought noncommercial radio to the valley through a chain of mountain-top translators carrying NPR programs from the University of Wyoming’s KUWR. Early local service was produced from Coleman’s living room and began with readings from the Aspen newspapers. The FCC approved Coleman’s request for the KAJX call sign in 1988, allowing the station to broadcast its own local news and programming alongside national content.

Regional service: KAJX is now the Aspen signal in a network whose principal frequencies also include KCJX 88.9 FM in Carbondale and several translators. Aspen Public Radio describes its coverage as spanning the Roaring Fork, Crystal, Colorado, Fryingpan, and Eagle River valleys, with NPR news and locally produced reporting. Its listed administrative address is 110 E. Hallam Street, Suite 134, Aspen; its history page notes the station’s later move to the Red Brick Center for the Arts.

2024 CBA Awards: Award of Excellence: Best Station Website, Aspen Public Radio. Certificates of Merit: Best News Feature (Caroline Llanes), Best News Coverage of a Single Event (Caroline Llanes), and Best Sports Feature, “Culture Shifters event aims to ‘make the mountains more colorful’ by diversifying snowsports” (Kaya Williams). Official CBA 2024 results.

2023 CBA Awards: Awards of Excellence: Best News Feature, “New program helps Aspen students with disabilities gain work experience” (Eleanor Bennett); Best News Coverage of a Single Event, “Protesters celebrate Uinta Basin Railway setback, prepare for continued fight on river float” (Halle Zander); Best Sports Feature, “Athleticism on display in Carbondale, CO as sheepdogs compete in national final” (Caroline Llanes); and Best Station Website, Aspen Public Radio. Certificates of Merit: Best News Feature (Caroline Llanes); Best News Coverage (Eleanor Bennett and Halle Zander); Best Sports Feature (Kaya Williams); and Best Sales Event, “Israel rally draws a crowd at Gondola Plaza” (Halle Zander and Caroline Llanes). Official CBA 2023 results.

Sources: Aspen Public Radio, About and current station details; Aspen Public Radio, founder Sy Coleman and early KAJX history; Aspen Public Radio, oral-history interview, “The History of KAJX” Part 1; Aspen Public Radio, “The History of KAJX” Part 2; FCC public inspection file, KAJX.