PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KKDG-FM

    KKDG (99.7 FM) is Radio Free Durango, an adult album alternative station for the Four Corners. If you like your radio a little off the beaten path, with singer-songwriters and deeper cuts instead of the same hits on repeat, this is the Durango station for you.

    History

    The facility began broadcasting on July 1, 1995, as KWXA. It became KPTE in 1998 and picked up the KKDG call sign in 2014. In September 2024 it dropped its Top 40 format and ran a dog-themed stunt for a short while. On October 3, 2024, it relaunched as Radio Free Durango with an adult album alternative format.

    Call sign timeline

    • KWXA: 1995 sign-on
    • KPTE: 1998 to 2014
    • KKDG: 2014 to today

    The KPTE call letters now live on another Four Corners station, KPTE 92.9.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Durango, Colorado
    • 99.7 MHz, Class C2
    • Format: adult album alternative

    Ownership history

    • Today: Hutton Broadcasting, LLC
    • 1995 to 2014: owners during the KWXA and original KPTE years haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    • 2024: Award of Excellence, Best Station Promotion/Marketing Campaign, for “Doggy FM”

    Sources

  • KKDC-FM

    KKDC (93.3 FM) is The Crow, album-oriented rock out of Dolores. If you grew up with deep-cut rock and Friday-night high school ball on the radio in southwest Colorado, this is the station that does both.

    History

    KKDC began broadcasting on October 21, 2003. Its signal covers Dolores and nearby communities in southwestern Colorado. Besides music, it carries local Dolores High School football and basketball during their seasons.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Dolores, Colorado
    • 93.3 MHz, 50 kW, Class C2
    • Format: album-oriented rock, branded The Crow

    Ownership history

    • Today: Four Corners Broadcasting, LLC
    • 2003: founder at sign-on hasn’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    Sources

  • KPTE-FM

    KPTE (92.9 FM) is 92.9 The Point, the adult-contemporary station for Durango and the Four Corners. If you have easygoing hits on at work or in the car around Bayfield and Durango, this is probably the one.

    History

    The facility began as KAYF on 92.5 MHz in 2008 and later used the call sign KKDG. It became KPTE in May 2014 as it moved to 92.9 MHz and took over the “The Point” branding from sister station KKDG. A separate Durango facility used the KPTE call letters from 1998 to 2014, and that one is now catalogued as KKDG.

    Call sign timeline

    • KAYF: 2007 to 2013, on 92.5 MHz
    • KKDG: 2013 to 2014
    • KPTE: May 2014 to today, on 92.9 MHz

    The signal

    • Licensed to Bayfield, Colorado
    • 92.9 MHz, Class C2
    • Format: adult contemporary

    Ownership history

    • Today: Hutton Broadcasting, LLC
    • Earlier: owners during the KAYF and KKDG years haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    • 2024: Certificate of Merit, Best Community Service Campaign, for “Colorado Gives Day”

    Sources

  • KZET-FM

    KZET (90.5 FM) is the Towaoc signal for KSJD Dryland Community Radio. If you’ve tuned in local reporting and music around the Four Corners, there’s a good chance this mountaintop transmitter helped get it to your radio.

    History

    KZET’s story begins in 2011, when the Community Radio Project picked up the license. By 2012 the station was on the air from Hermano Peak on Ute Mountain, a joint effort with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Then in 2016 a satellite studio came along with the Tribe’s Media Department in Towaoc, so some of the production could happen right in the community.

    What you hear

    KZET carries KSJD’s programming, local reporting and music included, and stretches the station’s reach across the Four Corners. KSJD lists 90.5 FM as its broad regional signal, alongside its Cortez, Mancos Valley and Rico frequencies.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Towaoc, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 90.5 MHz, 2 kW, from Hermano Peak on Ute Mountain
    • FCC records show a license modification in 2023

    Ownership history

    • 2011: Community Radio Project picked up the license for KZET
    • Today: Community Radio Project, Inc., working with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

    Where the studios have been

    • Hermano Peak on Ute Mountain (transmitter site, on the air 2012)
    • Satellite studio with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s Media Department, Towaoc (from 2016)

    Sources

  • KDNG-FM

    KDNG (89.3 FM) brings Four Corners Public Radio to Durango. If you tune in for NPR and local music in town, this is the signal that carries it.

    What you hear

    KDNG relays Four Corners Public Radio, which mixes NPR and other public-radio programs with locally produced music and features. It’s its own licensed station within KSUT’s regional network. KSUT’s separate 91.3 signal is the one that carries Southern Ute Tribal Radio.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Durango, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 89.3 MHz, a low-power 200 watts

    Ownership history

    • Today: KSUT Public Radio, Inc.
    • Earlier: founders and earlier owners haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    Sources

  • KLCQ-FM

    KLCQ (88.5 FM) is the K-LOVE signal in Durango. If you listen to contemporary Christian music around the Four Corners, this is the station that carries it for you.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Durango, Colorado, noncommercial
    • 88.5 MHz
    • Format: contemporary Christian, from the K-LOVE network

    Ownership history

    • Today: Educational Media Foundation holds the license
    • Earlier: founders and earlier owners haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

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

    Sources

  • KUTE-FM

    KUTE (90.1 FM) is part of Four Corners Public Radio, based in Ignacio. Ever driven around southwest Colorado with NPR on in the morning and then a blend of bluegrass, blues, folk and Americana afterward? This is the kind of signal that delivered it.

    History

    In June 1998 the original KSUT operation divided in two, and KUTE went on the air as one of the halves. It took over the Four Corners Public Radio service, aimed at listeners across the wider region, while KSUT-FM stayed with the Southern Ute Tribal Radio name and programming.

    What you hear

    Expect NPR shows along with a music blend produced locally, wandering across blues, jazz, folk, bluegrass, Americana, rock and world sounds. KUTE is the network’s 90.1 signal in Ignacio, and it teams up with other stations and translators to cover the region.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Ignacio, Colorado
    • 90.1 MHz, Class C1
    • Format: public radio, with NPR, music and local programming

    Ownership history

    • 1998: KUTE split off from the original KSUT operation
    • Today: KUTE, Inc., a nonprofit associated with KSUT Public Radio

    Where the studios have been

    KUTE is based in Ignacio. We haven’t found specific studio addresses yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KJOL-AM

    KJOL (620 AM) is a Christian station in Grand Junction. If you’ve ever tuned across the dial in western Colorado and landed on Christian talk and teaching, you may have heard it, or one of the other stations and translators that carry its programming.

    History

    This 620 AM signal started out as KSTR. It came on the air June 19, 1957, with Mountain States Broadcasting Company holding the license and 5,000 watts to work with during the day.

    Call sign timeline

    • KSTR: 1957 sign-on
    • Later call signs along the way: KKTK, KKGM, KBZS, KKGJ, KRDY, and KSTR again
    • KJOL: April 23, 2001

    At one point the FCC authorized a move from 620 to 1680 kHz in the expanded AM band (1997), but nobody ever built it.

    The signal

    • 620 kHz, 5,000 watts by day and 79 watts at night
    • FCC Class D
    • Format: Christian

    The wider network

    You don’t have to be on 620 to hear KJOL’s programming. It also comes through KJYE 1400 AM in Delta, KJOL-FM 91.9 in Montrose, and translators in Grand Junction, Paonia and Hotchkiss.

    Ownership history

    • 1957: Mountain States Broadcasting Company, the original licensee of KSTR
    • Today: United Ministries
    • In between: owners during the KKTK through KRDY years haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    Sources

  • KNOZ-FM

    KNOZ (97.7 FM) is Jack FM for Grand Junction. If you like a playlist that jumps from one decade to the next without a lot of talk in between, this is the one you’ve probably had on.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Orchard Mesa, Colorado, serving Grand Junction and nearby areas
    • 97.7 MHz, Class C2
    • Format: adult hits, with the “Playing What We Want” slogan

    Part of a regional pair

    KNOZ is one of two Western Colorado stations in the regional Jack FM network. The other is KRYD 104.9 FM in Montrose.

    Ownership history

    • Today: Sunshine Broadcasting, LLC, the licensee
    • Earlier: founders and earlier owners haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

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

    Sources

  • KKNN-FM

    KKNN (95.1 FM) is 95 Rock, the classic-rock station for Grand Junction and the Western Slope. If you’ve ever had classic rock on in the truck while crossing the western end of the state, this is the signal you were probably hearing.

    The signal

    • Licensed to Delta, Colorado, serving the Grand Junction area
    • 95.1 MHz at 100 kW, a big signal that covers a lot of ground
    • Format: classic rock, branded “The Rock of Western Colorado”

    Ownership history

    • Today: Townsquare Media, as part of its Grand Junction group
    • Earlier: founders and earlier owners haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    This is a short page built from current station records. If you worked at KKNN or grew up with 95 Rock, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources