PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KBVC-FM

    KBVC (104.1 FM) is Eagle Country 104, a country station licensed to Buena Vista. If you listen to country and Buena Vista Demons football on the radio, this is the signal that carries it.

    History

    The Salida Museum records Three Eagles Communications and Headwaters Media acquiring the KVRH and KBVC services in 2000. The sources don’t give a full call sign or format timeline for KBVC itself.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Buena Vista, Colorado
    • 104.1 MHz, 600 watts
    • Format: country, branded Eagle Country 104

    Ownership history

    • 2000: Three Eagles Communications and Headwaters Media acquired the KVRH and KBVC services

    Three Eagles Communications of Colorado, LLC, as part of Heart of the Rockies Radio, which covers local programming, community events, sports, news, traffic and weather. The 104.1 facility is its own license, separate from the group’s other stations even where programming and sales are shared.

    Where the studios have been

    • Today: 7600 County Road 120, Salida (Heart of the Rockies Radio, shared with KVRH-FM and the group’s other stations)

    Earlier studio addresses haven’t been found yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    • 2024: Awards of Excellence for Best Station Imaging Campaign (“102.9 The Valley”), Best Sports Coverage (“HS Football – Buena Vista vs Wray”), and Best Regularly Scheduled Entertainment Program (“Sports in the Rockies”). Certificates of Merit for Best Station Imaging Campaign (“Hippie Radio 97.5”) and Best Morning Show
    • 2023: Awards of Excellence for Best Sports Coverage (“Buena Vista Demons High School Football”) and Best Regularly Scheduled Entertainment Program (“Sports in the Rockies”). Certificate of Merit for Best Morning Show (“Eagle Country 104 Mornings”)

    Sources

  • KWUZ-FM

    KWUZ (97.5 FM) is Hippie Radio 97.5, a classic-hits station licensed to Poncha Springs. If you spend time in Chaffee County and like your hits from the decades you grew up with, this is one of the signals you’ll find around Salida.

    History

    KWUZ is reported to have first signed on in 2008. The sources don’t give a reliable founding date or a full format history, so the early years are still open for archival work. If you remember the early days of KWUZ, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Poncha Springs, Colorado
    • 97.5 MHz, 250 watts
    • Format: classic hits, branded Hippie Radio 97.5

    Ownership history

    FCC materials from 2009 on list Three Eagles Communications of Colorado, LLC as licensee. The station is part of the Heart of the Rockies Radio group, which the Salida Chamber describes as locally active, with special programming for Chaffee County residents and visitors.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KWUZ yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KSBV-FM

    KSBV (93.7 FM) is The River Rat, classic rock for Salida and the upper Arkansas Valley. If you like classic rock with a river-town attitude, this is the one that’s been on the dial since the early 2000s.

    History

    KSBV is reported to have signed on in 2002. In August 2025, Heart of the Rockies Radio entered an agreement with River Rat Radio to manage and program the station. That deal doesn’t transfer the FCC license, which stays with Arkansas Valley Broadcasting.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Salida, Colorado
    • 93.7 MHz, 1,000 watts, Class C2
    • Format: classic rock, branded The River Rat

    Ownership history

    Arkansas Valley Broadcasting holds the license. Heart of the Rockies Radio, which provides commercial radio service across central Colorado, lists The River Rat 93.7 among its current streams.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KSBV yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KTPF-FM

    KTPF (91.3 FM) is The Light in Salida. If you listen to contemporary worship and praise music in the Upper Arkansas Valley, this small local signal is what brings the KTLF Radio Network to your dial.

    History

    The facility was proposed in a 1999 application and received the KTPF call sign in November 2005. Educational Communications of Colorado Springs, Inc. received the license to cover in October 2007, which authorized the finished noncommercial FM station in Salida. A 2009 edition of the M Street Radio Directory lists KTPF as a religious-teaching station repeating KTLF, which shows its role as a regional relay of the Colorado Springs network.

    The network behind it

    The KTLF Radio Network began as a listener-supported radio ministry in Colorado Springs on February 27, 1989. In 1992 it started sending its programming up by satellite, which let it grow through more full-power stations and translators. KTPF carries that same Light service into the Salida area.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Salida, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 91.3 MHz, 390 watts authorized ERP, Class C2
    • Format: contemporary worship and praise

    Ownership history

    • 2007 to today: Educational Communications of Colorado Springs, Inc., the licensee, whose KTLF Radio Network began in Colorado Springs on February 27, 1989

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KTPF yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KMPZ-FM

    KMPZ-FM is the licensed signal behind KCME’s public-radio service in Salida, Nathrop and Buena Vista. If you listen to classical music in the Upper Arkansas Valley, KMPZ is the call sign on the transmitter, and KCME is the name you hear on the air.

    History and programming

    KCME’s own history describes its Salida-area signal as part of the network carrying the independent station’s classical programming. FCC-derived records show the KMPZ call letters assigned in 2008. The local chamber also lists KCME/KMPZ as an independent public-radio service available in the area.

    Both names are kept here to tell the local transmitter apart from the station you hear over it. The sources don’t give a full earlier history for KMPZ itself.

    The signal

    • Serving Salida, Nathrop and Buena Vista
    • 88.1 MHz, per KCME’s history

    This is a short page built from current station records. If you worked at KCME or KMPZ, we’d love to hear from you.

    Ownership history

    We haven’t identified KMPZ’s licensee, founders or earlier owners yet. The call letters were assigned in 2008. If you know more, we’d love to hear from you.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KMPZ or KCME in the Salida area yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KGNI-FM

    KGNI-FM (88.7 FM) is KBUT Community Radio’s Gunnison signal. If you live in Gunnison and tune in for local news, volunteer-hosted music and NPR, this is the station that makes it reach you.

    History

    The big moment for the Gunnison signal came in 2013, when a community-led fundraising push called “Power Up” paid for a major boost to it. The stronger 88.7 signal was built to cover the bulk of the Gunnison Valley. On KBUT’s current listening guide, this outlet shows up as KGNI-FM at 88.7 MHz, working alongside KBUT-FM 90.3 in Crested Butte and other relay signals.

    KGNI-FM is its own licensed facility inside KBUT’s community-radio network. For the bigger story, the volunteer-powered 1986 sign-on, the growth since, local news and NPR membership, see the KBUT page.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Gunnison, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 88.7 MHz

    Ownership history

    • Today: part of KBUT Community Radio’s network (see KBUT), run by Crested Butte Mountain Educational Radio, Inc.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KGNI yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KBUT-FM

    KBUT (90.3 FM) is Crested Butte’s volunteer-powered community radio station. Ever built your morning around the weather report and a local music show on the drive to the slopes or the trailhead? Then you already know what KBUT feels like.

    History

    Before there was KBUT there was Earth Station Radio, a tiny low-power community outlet in Crested Butte. In 1983 organizers began the push for a full-power license, and it paid off on December 20, 1986, when KBUT-FM went live from the building locals call the bus barn. Van Morrison’s “Wavelength” was the first song anyone heard. Down the line it turned into a volunteer-run community station and an NPR member.

    What you hear

    Look for local and national news, weather, arts and culture, public affairs, and music hosted by volunteers, spanning classical, jazz, rock, hip-hop and more. The regional network also takes in KGNI-FM 88.7 in Gunnison, plus a translator at 94.9 in Almont.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Crested Butte, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 90.3 MHz, 1,000 watts, Class A
    • Main transmitter on Sunlight Ridge, Mount Crested Butte

    Ownership history

    • Before 1986: Earth Station Radio, a low-power community station in Crested Butte, was the forerunner
    • 1983: Organizers began pursuing a full-power license
    • Today: Crested Butte Mountain Educational Radio, Inc.

    Where the studios have been

    • The “bus barn” building in Crested Butte (sign-on, December 20, 1986)

    We haven’t found later studio addresses yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KDNK-FM

    KDNK (88.1 FM) is community radio for the Roaring Fork Valley, built and run by volunteers. If you’ve ever heard a neighbor’s music show or a local public-affairs program on the way through Carbondale, you’ve heard what this station is about.

    History

    KDNK got going in 1983, when a group of volunteers set it up in downtown Carbondale. The “DNK” in the call sign is a nod to the Dinkel Building that housed the very first studio. On paper the FCC lists Glenwood Springs as the license city, but the studios are really in Carbondale.

    What you hear

    Local participation and community connection are the heart of the station. Tune in for locally produced news and public affairs, music shows hosted by volunteers, and a handful of national and regional programs. KDNK also partners with the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program, which puts young people on the air and turns out six hours of programming each week.

    The signal

    • Main signal: 88.1 FM, licensed to Glenwood Springs, studios in Carbondale
    • Translators: 88.3 in Aspen, 88.5 in Basalt, 93.5 in Leadville, 94.7 in Old Snowmass, 94.9 in Thomasville, 99.9 in Snowmass Village
    • The station’s About page also describes reception in Glenwood Springs, Rifle and Redstone

    Ownership history

    • 1983: Volunteers founded KDNK in downtown Carbondale
    • Today: Carbondale Community Access Radio, Inc.

    Where the studios have been

    • The Dinkel Building, downtown Carbondale (first studio, 1983)
    • Carbondale (current studios; street address not yet confirmed here)

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    • 2024: Award of Excellence, Best Public Affairs Program, for “Immigrant Stories”

    Sources

  • KCJX-FM

    KCJX (88.9 FM) is Aspen Public Radio’s Carbondale signal. If you listen to NPR and local news while driving the Roaring Fork Valley, this is the station that keeps you on one spot on the dial as you go.

    Network role

    The network behind KCJX got going through Sy Coleman, who organized Roaring Fork Public Radio Translator in 1980. A year later, valley listeners were hearing noncommercial programming relayed from Wyoming’s KUWR over a chain of mountaintop translators. Then in 1988 the FCC signed off on the KAJX call sign, which opened the door to news produced locally in the valley.

    KCJX extends that NPR service and local reporting from Aspen through Carbondale and the wider valley. Listeners can stay on 88.9 as they travel through much of it.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Carbondale, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 88.9 MHz, paired with KAJX 91.5 in Aspen

    KCJX shares a network, newsroom and programming identity with KAJX, but has its own call sign, frequency and FCC public file.

    Ownership history

    • 1980: Sy Coleman organized Roaring Fork Public Radio Translator, the start of the network
    • Today: part of Aspen Public Radio, run by Roaring Fork Public Radio, Inc.

    Where the studios have been

    KCJX shares its newsroom with KAJX. See KAJX for that history.

    Sources

  • KAJX-FM

    KAJX (91.5 FM) is Aspen Public Radio’s home signal. If you’ve ever caught NPR news and local reporting on the way up valley from Aspen, this is the station that started it all.

    How it started

    The story begins in 1980 with founder Sy Coleman, who formed Roaring Fork Public Radio Translator. If you wanted a taste of the early local service, it came straight out of his living room, where news started with him reading stories from the Aspen newspapers. The following year, 1981, he gave the valley its first noncommercial radio, using translators on mountaintops to relay NPR programs from the University of Wyoming’s KUWR.

    KAJX became official in 1988, when the FCC approved the call sign. From then on the station could mix its own local news and programming in with the national content.

    Where it reaches

    KAJX is the Aspen anchor of a network that also takes in KCJX 88.9 in Carbondale and several translators. Aspen Public Radio says the reach takes in the valleys of the Eagle River, Fryingpan, Colorado, Crystal and Roaring Fork, carrying NPR news along with locally produced reporting. Later on, the station relocated to the Red Brick Center for the Arts.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Aspen, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 91.5 MHz

    Ownership history

    • 1980: Founder Sy Coleman formed Roaring Fork Public Radio Translator
    • 1981: Coleman brought noncommercial radio to the valley through mountaintop translators carrying NPR programs from KUWR
    • Today: Roaring Fork Public Radio, Inc., the nonprofit behind Aspen Public Radio

    Where the studios have been

    • Sy Coleman’s living room (early local service)
    • Red Brick Center for the Arts, Aspen (later)

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    • 2024: Award of Excellence, Best Station Website. Certificates of Merit for Best News Feature, Best News Coverage of a Single Event, and Best Sports Feature (“Culture Shifters event aims to ‘make the mountains more colorful’ by diversifying snowsports”)
    • 2023: Awards of Excellence for Best News Feature (“New program helps Aspen students with disabilities gain work experience”), Best News Coverage of a Single Event (“Protesters celebrate Uinta Basin Railway setback, prepare for continued fight on river float”), Best Sports Feature (“Athleticism on display in Carbondale, CO as sheepdogs compete in national final”), and Best Station Website. Certificates of Merit for Best News Feature, Best News Coverage, Best Sports Feature, and Best Sales Event (“Israel rally draws a crowd at Gondola Plaza”)

    Sources