KUNC-FM

KUNC began as KCBL-FM, a campus radio station at the University of Northern Colorado, and grew into a regional public-radio service for Northern Colorado. The station’s own history dates its founding to 1967. Its call-sign record preserves the original KCBL identity as part of the station’s origin.

Institutional record

The station began broadcasting from the Greeley campus as KCBL on January 6, 1967. On May 1, 1970, it adopted the KUNC call letters. In February 2001, after the university considered selling the station, a community fundraising effort raised nearly $1.5 million and formed Community Radio for Northern Colorado to keep the service locally governed.

KUNC’s current public-media role serves Greeley, Fort Collins, and the wider Northern Colorado region with news, music, and cultural programming. The historical shift from KCBL to KUNC marks the same continuing public-radio service; KJAC and The Colorado Sound are separate station identities within the broader organization.

Station information

• Original identity: KCBL-FM.
• Present call sign: KUNC-FM.
• Origin: University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.
• First broadcast: January 6, 1967, as KCBL.
• Call-sign change: KUNC, May 1, 1970.
• Ownership transition: Community Radio for Northern Colorado formed following the 2001 community fundraising campaign.

2024 CBA Awards: Certificates of Merit included Best Public Affairs Program, “KUNC’s daily In The NoCo” (Erin O’Toole, Brad Turner and Ariel Lavery); Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast (Michael Lyle and Beau Baker); Best News Feature (Emma VandenEinde); and Best Sports Coverage, “Best Sports Coverage by KUNC’s Michael Lyle.” The Metro Market Award of Excellence for Best Mini-Documentary or Series went to “Unseen But Everywhere: A 3-part look at housing insecurity and education among youth.” Official CBA 2024 Metro Market results Official CBA 2024 major-market results.

2023 CBA Awards: Award of Excellence: Best Radio Podcast, “Thirst Gap: Learning to Live with Less on the Colorado River, Episode 1, Wishing Up a River” (Luke Runyon). Certificates of Merit: Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast, KUNC’s newscast, Best Station Website (kunc.org; Jennifer Coombes and Natalie Skowlund), and Best Radio Podcast, “The Colorado Dream, Season 3” (Stephanie Daniel). Official CBA 2023 results.

References

• KUNC, “About Us” — the station dates its founding to 1967.
• BizWest, “KUNC, Rocky Mountain Public Media eye merger” (March 26, 2026) — reports the station’s original KCBL call sign, 1967 sign-on, 1970 call change, and 2001 community ownership campaign.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1991 station roster — identifies KUNC-FM in Greeley among Colorado public-radio stations and lists 91.5 MHz.

Catalog note: Frequency and service-area details vary across KUNC’s main signal and its relay/network facilities; this record describes the parent station identity rather than attempting a complete transmitter inventory.