PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KQKS-FM

    KQKS (107.5 FM, KS107.5) is Denver’s rhythmic hot AC station, broadcasting from Green Mountain. If you’ve danced to it at a wedding or had it on at the gym, you know the vibe, and if you remember KS104, there’s a back story you’ll want to read.

    Two histories that met in 1997

    The 107.5 FM facility began in 1966 as KLAK-FM, at first on 107.7 MHz. It used several call signs before becoming KRXY-FM in 1984 with the “Y108” Top 40 identity, then KWMX-FM and KHHT. In January 1997, Jefferson-Pilot moved the KQKS call letters and the “KS104” rhythmic format from 104.3 FM over to 107.5, creating KS107.5.

    KS104 had started in 1986 on 104.3 FM, after Western Cities Broadcasting bought KLMO-FM, upgraded it and relaunched it as KQKS. So the 107.5 signal and the KS104 identity have separate histories that came together in 1997. In 1996, the KS104 air staff left together for rival KJMN, which left KS104 without live announcers during its last months on 104.3.

    Jefferson-Pilot moved its Denver stations into new Lakewood studios in 1997 and then to Greenwood Village in 2006.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 107.5 FM
    • City of license: Lakewood
    • Serves: the Denver metro area
    • Power: 100,000 watts ERP, 365 meters above average terrain
    • FCC Facility ID: 35574
    • Format: rhythmic hot adult contemporary
    • Owner: Audacy
    • Website: audacy.com/ks1075

    Ownership history

    • 1986: Western Cities Broadcasting, which relaunched the 104.3 signal as KS104
    • 1997 to 2006: Jefferson-Pilot Communications
    • 2006 to 2015: Lincoln Financial Media
    • 2015 on: Entercom, renamed Audacy in 2021

    Where the studios have been

    • 1997: new Lakewood studios
    • 2006: Greenwood Village
    • Now: Audacy’s Denver office at 4700 South Syracuse Street, Suite 1050

    Sources

  • KIMN-AM

    KIMN (950 AM) was the Denver Top 40 station for a generation. If you were a kid in Denver in the 60s or 70s and you remember the Beatles at Red Rocks, you probably remember this one, too.

    From KFEL to KIMN

    The 950 AM lineage started in 1923 as KFEL, licensed to Capt. W.L. Winner Jr. and bought by Gene O’Fallon in 1927, with studios at the Albany Hotel. KFEL was Denver’s second radio station and grew into a prominent locally owned outlet. By the early 50s it was on 950 AM with 5,000 watts in the daytime and carried the Mutual network.

    In 1954, O’Fallon sold KFEL to Standard Examiner Publishing of Ogden, Utah, and the new owners changed the calls to KIMN.

    Top 40 in Denver

    KIMN became one of Denver’s defining Top 40 stations and dominated youth radio for much of the next three decades, with a deep bench of local personalities, promotions and news features. It sponsored the Beatles’ August 26, 1964 concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and it pioneered airborne traffic reports in Denver with Don Martin’s Air Alert.

    The later years

    By the late 80s, KIMN was heading toward oldies, and in 1988 it became KYGO. The 950 AM facility carried several more identities after that, and the original KFEL/KIMN lineage is still on 950 AM today. KIMN is also the name used by later FM stations, which have their own history.

    Ownership history

    • 1923 to 1927: Capt. W.L. Winner Jr. and the Winner Radio Company, who licensed KFEL (Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado)
    • 1927 to 1954: Eugene (Gene) O’Fallon, as KFEL. The Colorado Broadcasters Association bio calls him the founder; we follow the Broadcast Pioneers chronology.
    • 1954: Standard Examiner Publishing of Ogden, Utah, which paid $275,000 and changed the calls to KIMN
    • Before 1960: Cecil Heftel
    • 1960: Bob Donner Jr., John Hunter and Ken Palmer, who paid $402,000

    Later owners of 950 are on the KFEL page.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1923: the Albany Hotel, Denver, for KFEL

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

    Call sign timeline

    • KFEL (1923)
    • KIMN (1954)
    • KYGO (1988)
    • later 950 AM identities

    Sources

  • KXKL-FM

    KXKL (105.1 FM, KOOL 105) is Denver’s oldies station. If you grew up on Motown, 60s pop and 70s hits and wanted them on the radio, KOOL 105 was the place.

    Before KOOL

    Go back to December 1, 1956, and 105.1 was KTGM, a Good Music Associates station playing a mix of middle-of-the-road and beautiful music. The late 1960s brought a new owner, Sound Corporation of Colorado, and new calls, KADX. If you tuned in during the 1970s, Columbine Broadcasting had KADX playing jazz. In 1982 Great Empire Broadcasting, which had since taken over, moved the station to country as KBRQ-FM and paired it up with 1280 AM as a simulcast.

    KOOL 105

    The sound most people remember kicked off on July 3, 1987, when Shamrock Communications turned 105.1 into oldies station KOOL 105 and the KXKL calls arrived. For a good number of years the same programming also played on 1280 AM. Over time KOOL 105 grew into one of the longest-lasting oldies and classic hits brands in Denver.

    From there the station changed hands several times, going through Chancellor, AMFM, Infinity/CBS and Wilks before landing with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The $54 million deal in which KSE picked up KXKL, KIMN and KWOF closed on December 31, 2015.

    Ownership history

    • 1956: Good Music Associates
    • Late 1960s: Sound Corporation of Colorado
    • 1970s: Columbine Broadcasting
    • 1982: Great Empire Broadcasting
    • 1987: Shamrock Communications
    • Later: Chancellor, AMFM, Infinity/CBS and Wilks
    • December 31, 2015: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, in a $54 million deal that also included KIMN and KWOF

    Where the studios have been

    • Through 2010: 1560 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, CO 80202, shared with KIMN, KWOF (then KWLI) and KDJM (supplied by the archive)
    • 2010 until the move to Yosemite: 720 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 1200N, Denver, CO 80246, with KIMN and KWOF (supplied by the archive)
    • Later: the group’s new location on S. Yosemite Street (see the KIMN page)

    Call sign timeline

    • KTGM (1956)
    • KADX (late 1960s)
    • KBRQ-FM (1982)
    • KXKL (July 3, 1987 on)

    Mornings on KOOL 105

    Winston & Mel ran KOOL 105 mornings for nine years. On October 7, 2024, Dom Testa, fresh from 32 years at Mix 100, and Melissa Moore, who came over from KOSI, took over with Dom in the Morning with Melissa Moore. On January 23, 2026, KSE Radio announced Dom was out. Melissa stays in the weekday 6 to 10 a.m. slot.

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    2024: Certificate of Merit for Best On-Air Contest for a Station (“KOOL 105 Free Fuel for A Year!”).

    Sources

  • KQMT-FM

    KQMT (99.5 The Mountain) is Denver’s classic rock station, broadcasting from Lookout Mountain near Golden. If you listened to The Hawk in the 90s or The Mountain since, you’ve been on the same frequency the whole time.

    From classical to classic rock

    The 99.5 facility began as KDEN-FM in 1958 and took the KVOD calls in 1969 as a commercial classical station. Henry Broadcasting bought KVOD in 1983 and sold it to Tribune Broadcasting in 1995. In February 1996, Tribune moved the classical format and KVOD name to 92.5 FM, then launched classic rock as KKHK, “The Hawk,” on 99.5 in March.

    Entercom bought the 99.5 facility from Tribune on March 21, 2003. The KKHK calls became KQMT in May 2002, and the station took on The Mountain brand. Entercom became Audacy in 2021. The calls and formats changed over time, but the frequency in Denver stayed put.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 99.5 FM
    • City of license: Denver
    • Power: 100,000 watts ERP, from Lookout Mountain near Golden
    • Height above average terrain: 513 meters
    • FCC Facility ID: 26929
    • Format: classic rock
    • Owner: Audacy
    • Website: audacy.com/995themountain

    Ownership history

    • 1983 to 1995: Henry Broadcasting Company
    • 1995 to March 21, 2003: Tribune Broadcasting Company and Tribune Denver Radio, Inc.
    • March 21, 2003 on: Entercom, renamed Audacy in 2021

    Where the studios have been

    • 10200 East South Girard Street, Denver: the original 99.5 FM studios, before the 2005 move to the Denver Tech Center
    • Now: Audacy’s Denver office at 4700 South Syracuse Street, Suite 1050; the station’s site places its studios in the Denver Tech Center

    Call sign timeline

    • KDEN-FM (1958)
    • KVOD (1969)
    • KKHK (1996)
    • KQMT (2002 on)

    Program directors

    Whoever picked the songs you heard on The Mountain was the program director. Here’s who held the job, in order. The archive doesn’t have exact start and end dates for the first two yet.

    • Dan Michaels: the first program director of 99.5 The Mountain, from its 2002 launch. Supplied by the archive.
    • Dylan Sprague: running the station by 2009, while also programming Alice 105.9.
    • Sam Hill: promoted to program director in March 2011 and stayed until she left in 2019.
    • Mike Peterson: took over the program-director duties after Sam. Supplied by the archive.

    Sources

  • KTCL-FM

    KTCL (93.3 FM, Channel 93-3) is Denver’s alternative rock station. If you came up on modern rock in the Denver area, or first heard The Fray, Flobots or 3OH!3 on the radio, there’s a good chance it was here.

    It started in Fort Collins

    Long before Denver, 93.3 was a Northern Colorado signal. It first went on the air from Fort Collins in 1965 as KFMF, turned into KIIX-FM in 1970, and became KTCL in 1975. Progressive music defined the 70s, and by the mid-80s the station had settled on modern rock, going by names such as The Adventure and, later, World Famous KTCL 93.3. For more on those Northern Colorado days, see the KFMF page.

    Into the Denver market

    Things shifted in 1995, when a shared sales deal with KBPI and KRFX arrived along with a more pop-leaning sound. Eventually the station landed on the Channel 93-3 brand and became known for giving early airplay to Colorado acts like The Fray, Flobots, 3OH!3 and Tickle Me Pink. Along the way KTCL moved from Northern Colorado into the Denver market as part of the Jacor group, followed by Clear Channel, which became iHeartMedia in 2014.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 93.3 FM
    • City of license: Wheat Ridge
    • Serves: the Denver metro area
    • Format: alternative rock (the HD2 subchannel carries punk rock)
    • Owner: iHeartMedia (licensee iHM Licenses, LLC)
    • Power: 71,000 watts ERP, 346 meters above average terrain
    • FCC Facility ID: 68684
    • Website: ktcl.iheart.com

    Call sign timeline

    • KFMF (1965)
    • KIIX-FM (1970)
    • KTCL (1975 on)

    Ownership history

    • Through 1996: ownership changed during the Fort Collins years
    • By 1996 to 1999: Jacor Communications
    • 1999 to 2014: Clear Channel Communications
    • 2014 on: iHeartMedia

    Where the studios have been

    • Originally Fort Collins, where the station began as KFMF in 1965
    • Now: iHeartMedia’s Denver studios at 4695 S. Monaco Street, Suite 400

    Sources

  • KBCO-FM

    KBCO (97.3 FM) is the Boulder-born adult album alternative station that a lot of Front Range listeners grew up on. If you ever sat through a Studio C session on your car radio, you know the sound.

    From KRNW to KBCO

    The station began in 1955 as KRNW, owned by Robert Wilkinson, with 2,000 watts and studios at 1305 Spruce Street in Boulder. Bob Greenlee bought it in 1975 and changed the calls to KBCO. It grew a freeform sound rooted in Boulder’s local music scene, with program director Dennis Constantine helping shape the early programming. The first song played under the KBCO name was James Taylor’s “Handy Man.”

    Studio C and a big signal

    Upgrades stretched KBCO’s reach from Boulder across Denver and Northern Colorado. In 1982 it became the first Colorado station reported to play music from compact discs on the air. Studio C started in 1988 after Melissa Etheridge played in a small production room, and the station’s annual compilation releases later raised money for regional charities. Jacor bought KBCO in 1996, Clear Channel bought Jacor in 1999, and Clear Channel became iHeartMedia in 2014. KBCO went into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 97.3 FM
    • City of license: Boulder
    • Serves: Boulder, Denver and Northern Colorado
    • Power: 100,000 watts horizontal, 85,000 watts vertical
    • Height above average terrain: 469 meters
    • FCC Facility ID: 48966
    • Format: adult album alternative
    • Owner: iHeartMedia
    • Website: kbco.iheart.com

    Ownership history

    • 1955 to 1975: Robert Wilkinson, as KRNW
    • 1975 to 1988: Bob Greenlee and associated local ownership, as KBCO
    • 1988 to 1996: Noble Broadcasting, which paid $27 million
    • 1996 to 1999: Jacor Communications
    • 1999 on: Clear Channel, renamed iHeartMedia in 2014

    Where the studios have been

    • 1305 Spruce Street, Boulder: KRNW’s original address, 1955
    • 4801 Riverbend Road, Boulder: the studio complex KBCO and KADE used after Greenlee moved them there in the 1980s
    • Denver Tech Center: KBCO moved out of Boulder to iHeartMedia’s shared studios in 2010
    • Now: iHeartMedia’s Denver studios at 4695 South Monaco Street, Suite 400 (KBCO is still licensed to Boulder)

    Sources

  • KBPI-FM

    KBPI (107.9 FM) is the Front Range’s active rock station, and if you’ve been a Denver rock fan for any length of time, you’ve probably followed it up the dial. The call letters have lived on a few different frequencies, and the story of how they got to 107.9 is a fun one.

    The original KBPI

    The KBPI calls first went on the air in 1965 on Denver’s 105.9 FM. Founder William S. “Bill” Pierson named the station for Bill Pierson Incorporated. It became known for progressive rock and then album-oriented rock. On April 20, 1994, the KBPI identity and its rock format moved from 105.9 to 106.7 FM, and 105.9 became Alice as KALC. That old 106.7 signal is KWBL, “106.7 The Bull,” today.

    The move to 107.9

    The 107.9 FM facility in Fort Collins started in 1975 as KCOL-FM and later used the calls KIMN and KPAW. In December 2017, it took the KBPI calls as iHeartMedia put together a Front Range trimulcast on 107.9. The KBPI brand was paired with translator signals in Denver and a simulcast on KDZA in southern Colorado.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 107.9 FM
    • City of license: Fort Collins
    • Serves: Northern Colorado, the Denver area and Cheyenne, Wyoming, through stations and translators
    • Owner: iHeartMedia, part of its Denver cluster
    • Power: 100,000 watts ERP, 266 meters above average terrain
    • FCC Facility ID: 68976
    • Format: active rock
    • Website: kbpi.iheart.com

    Ownership history

    • 1965 to 1974: Bill Pierson and Bill Pierson Incorporated (the original 105.9 KBPI)
    • Today: iHeartMedia, which moved the KBPI identity to the Fort Collins-licensed signal in 2017

    Where the studios have been

    • iHeartMedia’s Denver studios at 4695 South Monaco Street, Suite 400, Denver. The 107.9 signal is licensed to Fort Collins; this is the Denver office, not the city of license.

    Sources

  • KHIH-FM

    KHIH (95.7 FM) was Denver’s smooth jazz station in the 90s. If you wound down the workday with smooth jazz on the radio in the 1990s, you may have been tuned right here.

    Where 95.7 came from

    This frequency didn’t start out anywhere near jazz. It went on the air December 15, 1966, as KMYR at 95.5 MHz, with Karlo Broadcasting as the owner. By about 1970 it had slid over to 95.7 and boosted its power to 100,000 watts, and once Doubleday took it over the calls became KHOW-FM.

    If you were dialing around Denver in the late 70s and early 80s, the sound changed fast: Top 40 as KXKX in 1977, then back to KHOW-FM with progressive rock in 1980. On July 19, 1983, “All Hit 96” showed up as KPKE and grew into a serious hit-radio rival in Denver. By June 1987 the mood had softened to soft AC as KSYY, “Sunny 95.7.”

    Smooth jazz

    The jazz era came after another spell under the KHOW-FM calls. In 1993 the station became KHIH and went smooth jazz, which it stayed with until 2000. After that, the frequency cycled through later contemporary and Spanish-language identities.

    Ownership history

    • 1966 to the 1970s: Karlo Broadcasting, the original owner as KMYR
    • 1970s: Doubleday, which made it KHOW-FM

    The owners from the 1980s through 2000 haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    Call sign timeline

    • KMYR-FM (1966)
    • KHOW-FM
    • KXKX (1977)
    • KHOW-FM (1980)
    • KPKE (1983)
    • KSYY (1987)
    • KHOW-FM
    • KHIH (1993 to 2000)

    Sources

  • KPKE-FM

    KPKE (95.7 FM, All Hit 96) was the sound of Top 40 in Denver during the mid-80s. Any teenager around the metro between 1983 and 1987 likely had it going in a bedroom or blasting from a car stereo.

    All Hit 96

    If you tuned in after July 19, 1983, you found 95.7 back on the Top 40 beat as “All Hit 96 KPKE,” and plenty of people were listening, since its ratings stayed strong. The party wound down in June 1987, when the station mellowed into soft AC with new calls, KSYY, and the name “Sunny 95.7.” That same frequency is Hits 95.7 today, which makes KPKE just one link in a long chain.

    The 95.7 lineage

    The story of the frequency starts in 1966, when it came on as KMYR, broadcasting from 95.5 MHz. By 1970 it had slid over to 95.7 and bumped up its power. Then came a run of call changes: KHOW-FM first, then the Top 40 KXKX from 1977 to 1980, then KHOW-FM again from 1980 to 1983, right up until KPKE showed up. Once KSYY was gone, the calls cycled through KHOW-FM one more time, KHIH, KXKL, KXKL-FM and the identity it carries now.

    Ownership history

    • 1966 to the 1970s: Karlo Broadcasting, as KMYR, then Doubleday after it became KHOW-FM; see the KHIH page

    Who owned the station during the 1983 to 1987 KPKE years hasn’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for All Hit 96 yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 95.7 FM (promoted as “96”)
    • Market: Denver
    • Call sign in use: 1983 to 1987
    • Format: Top 40 / contemporary hit radio

    Call sign timeline

    • KMYR (1966)
    • KHOW-FM
    • KXKX (1977 to 1980)
    • KHOW-FM (1980 to 1983)
    • KPKE (July 19, 1983 to 1987)
    • KSYY (June 1987)

    Sources

  • KXPK-FM

    KXPK (96.5, The Peak) was Denver’s locally owned rival to KBCO in the 90s. Did you spend time at the Peak Lounge, or catch a live set on 96.5 in the mid-90s? Then this was your station.

    The Peak

    “The Peak” hit the air on June 8, 1994, owned by Evergreen Communications and built around an adult album alternative sound that went straight at KBCO. Ray Skibitsky ran things as general manager, while Doug Clifton, among the KBCO veterans recruited to staff the new outfit, took the job of program director.

    Being locally owned was the station’s big selling point. In Lakewood it put together a studio complex that included the Peak Lounge, a small room for live music. Hundreds of performances by up-and-comers, local bands and national names took place there, and money raised from CDs went to Denver-area causes via the Peak Foundation.

    A younger direction

    The sound skewed younger on October 12, 1998, when The Peak switched to alternative rock and put Howard Stern on in the mornings. In 2000 Emmis Communications bought the station, and 96.5 eventually turned to Spanish-language programming.

    Ownership history

    • 1994 to 2000: Evergreen Communications, with Ray Skibitsky as general manager
    • 2000: Emmis Communications

    Where the studios have been

    • 1994 to 2000: a studio complex in Lakewood, including the Peak Lounge

    The signal

    • Frequency: 96.5 FM
    • Market: Denver
    • Signed on: June 8, 1994
    • Studios: Lakewood

    Sources