KRRU-AM

KRRU was the call sign used by Pueblo’s 1480 AM facility from August 1988 until September 1998. The station was one chapter in a lineage that began when 1480 signed on as KTUX in 1960.

Origins of the KRRU identity

Before KRRU, the frequency had operated as KPUB, KGMQ and KAYK. Colorado Community Wireless Radio Company, the KAYK licensee, entered bankruptcy, and Yonker and Turner Broadcasting acquired the station and introduced the KRRU call letters in 1988. The station subsequently passed through additional ownership changes, including Joyce Erway, Quetzal Communications Corporation and Polarcomm.

Spanish-language service

Trade directories document KRRU as a Spanish-language Pueblo station during the 1990s. A 1997 Radio Business Report market directory listed Julio Gutierrez as general manager and general sales manager, Rita Orozco as program director and Norm Smith as chief engineer. The station operated from 1480 kHz and served Pueblo’s Spanish-speaking audience during a period when relatively few local facilities offered full-time Spanish programming.

Later history

The call sign changed from KRRU to KAVA in September 1998. The same 1480 AM facility retained KAVA for twenty-five years before becoming KIXD in 2023.

Facility lineage: KTUX → KPUB → KGMQ → KAYK → KRRU → KAVA → KIXD.

Sources

• FCC historical filing — 1480 AM Pueblo call-sign history
• Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1997 — Pueblo station directory
• Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1998 — KRRU listing