PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KEZW-AM

    KEZW (1430 AM) started life as KOSI, the beautiful-music station that Bill Armstrong built into a Denver success. If you grew up hearing adult standards on the AM dial in the 80s, 90s or 2000s, this is the frequency.

    How it started

    The 1430 AM facility signed on December 1, 1954 as KOSI. Bill Armstrong bought it in 1959 at age 22, after an unusually early career as a teenage Top 40 disc jockey. Under Armstrong, KOSI grew into a successful Denver beautiful-music operation and added KOSI-FM at 101.1 in 1968 (see KOSI).

    The KEZW years

    In 1981 the AM became KEZW and went to adult standards, a format it kept for more than three decades. It later carried oldies and soft oldies, then flipped to sports-betting programming as “1430 AM The Bet” in January 2021. The calls changed to KAMP that April.

    Call sign timeline

    • KOSI (1954)
    • KEZW (1981)
    • KAMP (April 2021)

    Where it is today: 1430 AM is KAMP, licensed to Aurora.

    Ownership history

    • 1954 to 1959: KOSI signs on at 1430 AM
    • 1959 to 1981: Bill Armstrong, who bought the station at age 22
    • 1981: Armstrong sold the KOSI stations to Westinghouse for about $9 million in stock
    • Later: owners from the KEZW years through the KAMP flip haven’t been identified here yet

    Where the studios have been

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

    Sources

  • KDKO-AM

    KDKO (1510 AM) was “Denver’s Soul Radio,” a landmark of Black Denver radio. If you grew up in Denver listening to rhythm and blues and soul, or knew the voice of Dr. Daddio, this was your station.

    How it started

    The 1510 AM facility began August 22, 1957 as KUDY, a country station in Littleton. It became KMOR in 1960 and KDKO at the end of 1964.

    The soul years

    KDKO’s defining era started in the late 1960s, when it shifted to rhythm and blues and soul and served Denver’s growing Black community. By 1967 it was known as “Denver’s Soul Radio.” James “Dr. Daddio” Walker became one of its most important voices and later its owner, using the station for music, community information and civic engagement. KDKO stayed a major institution in Black Denver radio for decades and eventually went off the air in the early 2000s.

    Ownership history

    • 1957 to 1960: the original KUDY owners
    • 1960: Bob Martin, Tim O’Connor and Bob Rubin bought the station, which became KMOR
    • 1979: Sterling Broadcasting
    • Until 1988: Dr. Donald Huttner
    • 1988: James “Dr. Daddio” Walker and partners, who paid $900,000
    • 2001: Newspaper Radio Corp, which paid $2.7 million and made it KNRC
    • May 15, 2020: Radio 74 Internationale

    Where the studios have been

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

    Call sign timeline

    • KUDY (1957)
    • KMOR (1960)
    • KDKO (end of 1964)
    • KNRC (2002)
    • KCUV (2003)
    • KCKK (2006)
    • KPLS (2020)

    The 1510 facility since

    After KDKO, 1510 carried sports talk and adult hits formats. Radio 74 Internationale completed its purchase on May 15, 2020, the call letters became KPLS, and a Christian format started May 22, 2020. The station was off the air as of December 2024 because of transmitter problems and came back on September 4, 2025. Power is 10,000 watts by day and 25,000 watts at night (FCC Facility ID 52249).

    Sources

  • KMYR-AM

    KMYR (1340 AM, later 710 AM) was an early Denver independent that signed on in 1941. If your family listened to Denver radio in the 1940s and 50s, this was one of the stations on the dial.

    How it started

    The FCC granted the station in November 1939 to F. W. Meyer, a former KLZ manager, but appeals by two existing Denver stations held up construction. KMYR went on the air on April 7, 1941. At launch it ran on 1340 AM with 250 watts by day and 100 watts at night. Meyer was both owner and manager. Colorado governor Ralph Carr and Denver mayor Benjamin Stapleton took part in the three-hour dedication broadcast. KMYR promoted news every hour and was reported to be the first Denver station to get both ASCAP and BMI music rights.

    Ownership history

    • 1940 to 1950s: Frederick W. Meyer, a wholesale grocer, who founded the station and ran it as KMYR Broadcasting Company
    • 1956: the 1340 facility passed to Gene Amole and Ed Koepke as KDEN

    By 1950 KMYR Broadcasting Company operated from 1425 Stout Street, with F. W. Meyer as president and A. G. Meyer as general manager. In 1956 KMYR increased power and moved to 710 AM. Gene Amole and Ed Koepke then took over the vacated 1340 facility and launched KDEN.

    Where it went from there

    The 710 lineage later became KBTR and eventually KNUS. The 1340 lineage went its own way as KDEN and later call signs.

    The 1340 facility’s call signs

    • KDEN (1956)
    • KKYD (1993)
    • KCFR (2001, when Colorado Public Radio moved its news and talk programming there)
    • KVOQ (2011)
    • KDCO (August 28, 2015)

    It was sold to El Sembrador Ministries for $420,000 on November 25, 2020, and carries Spanish-language Catholic programming (FCC Facility ID 34585).

    Where the studios were

    • 1425 Stout Street, Denver (by 1950)

    Sources

  • KTLK-AM

    KTLK (1280 AM) was the Denver station that started as KTLN, a Top 40 favorite owned by a former Kansas governor. If you grew up in Denver listening to Top 40 on AM, KTLN was part of that world.

    How it started

    The story of 1280 AM goes back to May 16, 1948, when it first came on the air as KTLN at 990 kHz. Alfred M. Landon owned it, the former Kansas governor who had been the Republican presidential nominee in 1936. The dial position changed over the years, to 1150 AM in 1951 and then to 1280 in 1954.

    The Top 40 years

    If you were a Denver Top 40 listener, KTLN was a real personality station, and it also took a stab at news/talk later on. The calls became KTLK on July 1, 1969, and for a while the station blended Top 40 hits with youth-oriented telephone talk, before drifting toward a more conventional music format.

    Ownership history

    • 1948: Alfred M. Landon, the former Kansas governor
    • 1985: Great Empire Broadcasting
    • 1987: Shamrock Broadcasting

    The owners between Landon and 1985 haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    Call sign timeline

    • KTLN (1948)
    • KTLK (July 1, 1969)
    • KBRQ, country (1981)
    • KXKL, KRRF, KEXX and KVOD (various)
    • KBNO (later)

    Where it is today: the 1280 AM signal is Spanish-language KBNO (“Que Bueno”).

    Sources

  • KLZ-AM

    KLZ (560 AM) has the oldest roots of any commercial station in Colorado. If you or your parents grew up with Denver radio in the network era, KLZ was part of the soundtrack, and it’s still on 560 today.

    How it started

    KLZ traces back to Dr. William D. “Doc” Reynolds, a Denver dentist and radio experimenter who ran amateur station 9ZAF from his home at 1124 S. University Boulevard starting around 1920. He and his family used it for music, news and experimental broadcasts before federal rules created a formal broadcasting category. Reynolds played saxophone and violin, and his wife Naomi played piano.

    On March 10, 1922, the Department of Commerce gave Reynolds Radio Company Colorado’s first broadcasting authorization under the new rules and assigned the call letters KLZ. Early programming included concerts, news, market and financial reports, children’s stories, sermons and music. The station later moved from the Reynolds home to the Shirley-Savoy Hotel.

    Moving to 560

    Under the Federal Radio Commission’s General Order 40, KLZ moved to 560 AM on November 11, 1928, the frequency it still uses. Through the network era it was an important Denver news and entertainment outlet, with local personalities and early audience-participation shows after the war.

    Ownership history

    • 1920 to 1935: Dr. William “Doc” Reynolds and the Reynolds family
    • 1935 to 1949: Oklahoma Publishing Company
    • 1949 to 1954: Aladdin Radio & Television
    • 1954 to 1972: Time-Life
    • 1972 to 1977: Group One Broadcasting, which paid $2.75 million for KLZ AM and FM
    • May 1977 on: the Roger Berk Family
    • 1987: DKM Broadcasting

    F. W. Meyer, who later founded KMYR, bought a third interest in KLZ earlier on.

    In 1953 the lineage expanded into television with KLZ-TV, now KMGH-TV/Denver7. Time-Life bought KLZ Radio and Television in 1954. KLZ-AM has changed owners and formats since, but kept the KLZ calls on 560. Its FM sister developed separately: KLZ-FM later became KAZY.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1124 S. University Boulevard, Denver: the Reynolds home and first operating site (not a later commercial address)
    • Shirley-Savoy Hotel, Denver

    Sources

  • KAZY-FM

    KAZY (106.7 FM) was one of Denver’s best-known FM rock stations. If you grew up in the Denver area in the late 70s, 80s or early 90s and had rock on the radio, there’s a good chance 106.7 was on.

    How it started

    The 106.7 FM lineage began June 19, 1962 as KLZ-FM, the FM sister of KLZ 560 (KLZ), and at first it simulcast the AM station. It was actually KLZ’s second FM try. An earlier KLZ-FM ran on 94.1 starting in the summer of 1947 and disappeared from trade listings in the mid-1950s.

    The KAZY years

    The revived 106.7 became an important Denver rock outlet. In 1976 the call letters changed to KAZY, which kept up mainstream and album-oriented rock and became one of the market’s best-known rock FMs.

    Ownership history

    • 1962 to 1972: the owners of KLZ, ending with Time-Life
    • 1972: Group One Broadcasting, which paid $2.75 million for KLZ AM and FM
    • May 1977: the Roger Berk Family, who bought KLZ and KAZY together
    • 1987: DKM Broadcasting
    • 1992: Summit Broadcasting agreed to sell to Jacor, which took over operations that December alongside KRFX, with Don Howe as general manager

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KAZY studio address yet. The KLZ studio history is on the KLZ page.

    The end of KAZY

    On April 20, 1994, KBPI moved from 105.9 to 106.7, ending the KAZY era. The frequency later became KWBL, “106.7 The Bull.”

    Call sign timeline

    • KLZ-FM (1962)
    • KAZY (1976)
    • KBPI (1994)
    • KWBL (later)

    Where it is today: 106.7 FM is KWBL, “106.7 The Bull.”

    Sources

  • KRNW-FM

    KRNW (97.3 FM) is the Boulder FM signal that became KBCO. If you ever tuned to KBCO for album rock in the Denver-Boulder area, you were listening to the frequency that started life as KRNW.

    How it started

    The 97.3 FM facility signed on October 1, 1955 as KRNW, owned by Robert Wilkinson. It started at 2,000 watts from studios at 1305 Spruce Street in downtown Boulder.

    Ownership history

    • 1955 to 1975: Robert Wilkinson
    • 1975 to 1977: Bob and Diane Greenlee, who then relaunched it as KBCO

    Where the studios have been

    • 1955: 1305 Spruce Street, Boulder

    The road to KBCO

    Bob and Diane Greenlee, who bought KADE 1190 in 1975, later bought KRNW. The FM’s Class C potential made it the vehicle for their bigger album-oriented idea. Dennis Constantine joined while the purchase awaited FCC approval and worked with the KADE staff on the new programming approach.

    At noon on June 2, 1977, the station became KBCO. The original KBCO transmitter was on Lee Hill, and later technical improvements stretched the signal across the Denver-Boulder market. Its AM companion is KADE.

    Sources

  • KADE-FM

    KADE (1190 AM) is the Boulder AM signal that ended up in the KBCO story and later became CU’s student station. If you grew up in Boulder and ever tuned to 1190, you caught a few chapters of this frequency’s history.

    The KBCO years

    The 1190 AM facility was closely tied to KBCO during the Bob and Diane Greenlee era. It ran alongside KBCO-FM and eventually carried the KBCO-AM calls.

    Ownership history

    • 1975: Bob and Diane Greenlee bought KADE
    • 1988 to 1996: Noble Broadcasting, as part of the KBCO deal
    • 1996 to 1997: Jacor
    • December 30, 1997: Jacor gave the University of Colorado Foundation the license, the tower site and the equipment

    Where the studios have been

    • 1980s: 4801 Riverbend Road, Boulder, which KADE shared with KBCO after the Greenlees moved them there

    Becoming Radio 1190

    The handoff to students came at the very end of 1997. Jacor, which by then owned Noble Broadcast Group, gave the University of Colorado Foundation the 1190 license, the site where the transmitter stands and the on-air equipment on December 30. Through 1998, CU’s student radio group worked on getting the facility ready for a brand-new service, Radio 1190. If you’d been tuning to the old commercial KBCO-AM signal, what you’d hear next was a noncommercial station programmed by students.

    Where it is today

    1190 AM is KVCU, CU Boulder’s Radio 1190.

    Sources

  • KSUT-FM

    KSUT is the public radio voice of the Four Corners, broadcasting from Ignacio on Southern Ute land. Ever caught Native American programming, local news or public radio while around Durango or Cortez? That was this two-signal network, which operates as Four Corners Public Radio and KSUT Tribal Radio.

    How it started

    Back in 1976 KSUT came on the air in Ignacio as a 10-watt community station, set up with Southern Ute community members in mind. Its reach was tiny, hardly extending past Ignacio itself. What you would have heard was a mix of Ute-language material, personal messages, cultural affairs and community news, plus pop music and traditional Native American songs.

    Growing up

    The board decided in 1984 to reach more people with more kinds of programming. The station signed up with both National Public Radio and American Public Radio, and with them came a wider mix of public-radio shows and music. Then in June 1998 the original tribal service and the growing regional public-radio service were pulled apart onto two signals. Tribal Radio holds on to Native American programming and community events, while Four Corners Public Radio covers the larger region.

    Its studios are in Ignacio. KSUT is an independent nonprofit, answering to a board of directors rather than to the tribe. Several transmitters carry the network to communities in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

    Ownership history

    • 1976: started in Ignacio as a community station created to reach members of the Southern Ute community
    • 1984 on: run as an independent nonprofit under a board of directors, separate from tribal ownership

    Where the studios have been

    • 1976 to today: Ignacio, Colorado

    The signal

    • Four Corners Public Radio: 90.1 FM (Durango and La Plata County), 106.3 FM (Cortez, Mancos and Montezuma County), 91.1 FM (Silverton)
    • Tribal Radio: 91.3 FM (Ignacio and Southern Ute and Jicarilla Apache lands), 89.7 FM (Farmington and northwest New Mexico), 100.9 FM (Towaoc and Ute Mountain Ute lands)

    These are the main network frequencies, not a complete transmitter list.

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    2024: Awards of Excellence for Best News Feature, Report or Series (“Historic Durango train switches from coal to oil in an eco-friendly move to reduce wildfire risk”) and Best News Coverage of a Single Event (“Youth heavy metal concert in Ignacio brings in an all-Indigenous lineup of bands”), both by Clark Adomaitis; and Best Station Website (KSUT Four-Corners Public Radio Website, Mark Duggan). Certificates of Merit for Best Sports Feature (“New film Rez Ball showcases Indigenous-designed sports apparel from Shiprock, New Mexico,” Clark Adomaitis) and Best Station Website (KSUT Tribal Radio Website, Crystal Ashike).

    2023: Awards of Excellence for Best News Feature (“One woman’s journey with The Vagina Monologues,” Clark Adomaitis and Adam Burke); Best News Coverage of a Single Event (“Durango High School’s Black Student Alliance heads to Atlanta,” Clark Adomaitis); Best Sports Feature (“Durango School District 9-R trains P.E. Teachers on traditional Native American games,” Clark Adomaitis); and Best Station Website (KSUT Four-Corners Public Radio Website, Mark Duggan). Certificates of Merit for Best News Feature (“One Overdose Turned Teens Into Activists,” Clark Adomaitis and Adam Burke) and Best Sports Feature (“Durango 9-R School District provides programming for bilingual students,” Clark Adomaitis).

    Sources

  • KSJD-FM

    KSJD (91.5 FM) started as a student project at a vocational school in Cortez and grew into a community-owned public radio station. If you’ve ever listened to community radio in Montezuma County or the Four Corners, you know the story of a station that locals decided not to let die.

    How it started

    Picture a classroom assignment that ended up as a real radio station. That’s KSJD. Tony Valdez taught electronics at San Juan Basin Vocational-Technical School, and in 1986 he had his students dig into broadcast media. His son Anthony Valdez teamed up with classmate Ted Vardell to design and file an FCC license application. The license came through for the school in 1987, and work began on a studio on campus. By 1988 KSJD was on the air at 91.5 FM, and if you’d tuned in you’d have heard students and volunteers running live shows for six to eight hours each day. Desiree Kline served as the student manager, and Valdez kept an eye on how things ran.

    Timeline

    • 1994: KSJD joined NPR as a member station.
    • 2003: The state trimmed its budget and the technical college switched the station off. People in Cortez rallied, forming the Community Radio Project to bring it back, and KSUT helped get things running again through a license-management agreement.
    • 2006 to 2009: The Community Radio Project gradually took the reins, first running the station and raising money, then ending up with the KSJD FCC license itself. It also bought the Basin Bank Building to serve as a permanent home.
    • 2010 to 2012: New signals followed: KICO at 89.5 FM in Rico, and KZET at 90.5 FM near Ute Mountain. In 2012 KSJD itself moved into the renovated Basin Bank Building in downtown Cortez.
    • 2015: The Sunflower Theatre opened up in that same community hub.

    Ownership history

    • 1987 to 2006: San Juan Basin Vocational-Technical School (later the technical college) held the license; Tony Valdez, Anthony Valdez and Ted Vardell started it
    • 2003: KSUT stepped in under a license-management agreement after the shutdown
    • 2006 to 2009: the Community Radio Project took over management and then the license

    Where the studios have been

    The original studios were on the technical-college campus. Since 2012 they’ve been in the former Basin Bank Building downtown, alongside a community theatre. KICO and KZET are separate signals from the Community Radio Project, not alternate call letters for the 91.5 FM facility.

    Sources