PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KDEN-FM

    KDEN-FM (99.5) is the start of a long Denver lineage. If you grew up with classical music on the FM dial in Denver, or later with The Hawk or The Mountain, you were listening to the descendants of this one.

    Two Denver broadcasters and an FM sister

    KDEN-FM was created by Denver broadcasters Gene Amole and Ed Koepke as the FM partner to KDEN on 1340 AM. Station listings of the time put its start in October 1958 on 99.5 MHz, with 15 kW from KDEN Broadcasting Company’s facilities at 1601 West Jewell Avenue.

    Amole and Koepke ran the AM/FM pair with a mix of popular music, jazz and classical. Over time the FM became known for classical music, and in 1969 it took the KVOD call letters, “Voice of Denver.” KVOD grew into one of the country’s notable commercial classical stations.

    Ownership history

    • 1958 to about 1970: KDEN Broadcasting Company, created by Denver broadcasters Gene Amole and Ed Koepke

    The owners after 1969, when it became KVOD, are on the KQMT page.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1958: 1601 West Jewell Avenue, Denver

    What came next

    The 99.5 frequency became KKHK “The Hawk” in 1996 and KQMT “The Mountain” in 2002.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 99.5 FM
    • City: Denver
    • On the air: October 1958
    • Power: 15 kW
    • Studios: 1601 West Jewell Avenue

    Call sign timeline

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

    Sources

  • KPAW-FM

    KPAW (107.9 FM, The Bear) was a classic rock station in the Fort Collins area. If you were driving the Northern Front Range in the 2010s with the Bear on, this is the one.

    What happened to it

    The Bear served Fort Collins and the Northern Front Range with classic rock. That came to an end in December 2017, when the programming and the call letters packed up and moved to KYWY at 92.9 FM in Cheyenne. Fort Collins listeners then got something different on 107.9: the active-rock sound of Denver’s KBPI, which moved its format and call letters to 107.9 on December 11, 2017. Denver’s 106.7 signal briefly simulcast KBPI before it flipped to country as KWBL.

    You could be forgiven for thinking one transmitter just hopped to a new frequency, but what really happened was a reshuffle of programming and call signs among related facilities.

    Ownership history

    Who owned KPAW hasn’t been identified on this page yet. If you know, we’d love to hear from you.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KPAW studio address yet. If you know it, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 107.9 FM
    • Market: Fort Collins and the Northern Front Range
    • Brand: The Bear
    • Format: classic rock
    • Later on 107.9: KBPI programming

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at the Bear, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KKPL-FM

    KKPL (99.9 The Point) is the hot adult contemporary station for Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland. If you’re after upbeat pop at the office, this is probably what’s on.

    The story

    The station began service in 1997. It carried the call sign KRRR from 1996 to 2002 before becoming KKPL. The calls and The Point identity have stayed with its adult contemporary presentation since. It’s one of four Northern Colorado stations in the Townsquare group, along with KTRR, KMAX and KUAD.

    Ownership history

    The first owners from 1996 and 1997 haven’t been identified on this page yet. Today it’s owned by Townsquare Media of Fort Collins, Inc.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 99.9 FM
    • City of license: Laporte
    • Brand and format: 99.9 The Point; hot adult contemporary
    • Owner/operator: Townsquare Media of Fort Collins, Inc.
    • First on the air: 1997
    • Former calls: KRRR (1996 to 2002)
    • FCC Facility ID: 54394, Class C2
    • Power: 50,000 watts ERP, 150 meters above average terrain
    • Website: 999thepoint.com

    Sources

  • KMAX-FM

    KMAX (94.3 FM) is the mainstream rock station for Fort Collins and Greeley. If your taste runs to loud guitars and you’ve followed the dial through Loudwire and The X, you’ve been along for a few format changes.

    A station with a few lives

    The construction permit came through in 2000. The FCC gave the station the call sign KKQZ in 2002, and it got its license to cover in February 2003. The calls became KMAX-FM in May 2007. After holiday-music stunting in 2011, it launched the mainstream rock brand “94.3 Loudwire” in December 2012, then switched to alternative as “94.3 The X” in August 2015. On January 10, 2025, it went back to mainstream rock as KMAX 94.3.

    Ownership history

    Whoever held the 2000 construction permit and owned the station through the 2000s hasn’t been identified on this page yet. Today it’s owned by Townsquare Media.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 94.3 FM
    • City of license: Wellington
    • Serves: Fort Collins and Greeley
    • Format: mainstream rock
    • Owner: Townsquare Media
    • FCC Facility ID: 84497, Class C3
    • Power: 8,700 watts ERP, 168 meters above average terrain
    • Website: kmax943.com

    Call sign timeline

    • KKQZ (2002 to 2007)
    • KMAX-FM (May 2007 on)

    It shares a family with Townsquare’s other Northern Colorado stations, including KTRR, KKPL and KUAD.

    Sources

  • KUAD-FM

    KUAD-FM (99.1, K99) is country radio for Northern Colorado. If you’ve been to a Cash for Kids weekend or heard K99 on the way to Cheyenne, you know this one.

    How it got here

    KUAD-FM signed on in 1975. The calls came from KUAD-AM, which had started in 1969 and is now KJJD. The FM first went with a Top 40 sound called “The Power Station” before switching to country as K99. It briefly used “New Country 99.1” in 2019 and went back to K99 on April 29, 2022. Every year it also runs the 28-hour “Cash for Kids” charity broadcast.

    The original KUAD

    The KUAD calls were first used on 1170 AM in Windsor. That signal is KJJD, “La Ley 1170,” today.

    Ownership history

    • Today: Townsquare Media of Fort Collins, Inc.

    The founders and the owners in between haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 99.1 FM (HD Radio)
    • City of license: Windsor
    • Serves: Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley and Cheyenne, Wyoming
    • Format: country
    • Owner: Townsquare Media of Fort Collins, Inc.
    • On the air since: 1975
    • FCC Facility ID: 49538, Class C1
    • Power: 100,000 watts ERP, 255 meters above average terrain

    Sources

  • KJAC-FM

    KJAC (105.5 FM, The Colorado Sound) is the adult album alternative station for Fort Collins and the northern Front Range. If you like your radio with a deep playlist and a lot of local music, it’s a good one to have on the presets.

    From Jack FM to The Colorado Sound

    The 105.5 signal started out commercial and went through several formats, including Jack FM and ESPN sports. On February 29, 2016, Community Radio for Northern Colorado launched The Colorado Sound on KJAC. It pairs a curated adult album alternative playlist with locally produced shows and regional arts coverage, and it’s separate from the news and public-affairs programming on sister station KUNC.

    Ownership history

    • February 2016 on: Community Radio for Northern Colorado, which also runs KUNC

    The commercial owners during the Jack FM and ESPN years haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 105.5 FM
    • City of license: Timnath
    • Brand: The Colorado Sound
    • Format: adult album alternative, noncommercial
    • Operator: Community Radio for Northern Colorado
    • FCC Facility ID: 38345, Class C1
    • Power: 50,000 watts ERP, 397 meters above average terrain
    • Website: coloradosound.org

    Sources

  • KUNC-FM

    KUNC (91.5 FM) started as a college radio station in Greeley and grew into Northern Colorado’s public radio service. If you’ve heard NPR news on your drive between Greeley and Fort Collins, this is where it came from.

    From KCBL to KUNC

    The station signed on from the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley on January 6, 1967 as KCBL-FM. On May 1, 1970, it took the KUNC call letters. It’s the same continuing service, just with a new name.

    Saved by the community

    In February 2001, after the university considered selling the station, a community fundraising drive brought in nearly $1.5 million. Out of that came Community Radio for Northern Colorado, which keeps the station locally governed. Today KUNC serves Greeley, Fort Collins and the wider Northern Colorado region with news, music and cultural programming. The sister music service, KJAC (The Colorado Sound), is a separate station within the same organization.

    Ownership history

    • 1967 to 2001: the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
    • 2001 on: Community Radio for Northern Colorado, formed after a community drive raised nearly $1.5 million

    Where the studios have been

    • 1967 to 2001: the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley
    • Today: 1901 56th Avenue, Suite 200, Greeley, CO 80634 (Google Maps business listing)

    We haven’t found KUNC’s earlier off-campus studio addresses yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 91.5 FM
    • Origin: University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
    • First on the air: January 6, 1967, as KCBL
    • Call sign change to KUNC: May 1, 1970
    • Operator: Community Radio for Northern Colorado
    • Format: public radio news

    Colorado Broadcasters Association awards

    2024: Certificates of Merit for Best Public Affairs Program (“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 (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.”

    2023: Award of Excellence for 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 for Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast, Best Station Website (kunc.org; Jennifer Coombes and Natalie Skowlund) and Best Radio Podcast (“The Colorado Dream, Season 3,” Stephanie Daniel).

    Sources

  • KIIX-AM

    KIIX (1410 AM) is a Fort Collins signal with a longer past than its call letters suggest. If your family had a radio on in Fort Collins in the late 40s, it may well have been tuned here, back when this station went by a different name.

    The original KCOL

    The 1410 kHz facility went on the air in 1947 as KCOL. Early broadcast directories list its original assignment at 1400 kHz, and it later settled at 1410.

    The call-sign swap

    On November 5, 1999, the KIIX calls moved over from the 600 kHz station (which became KCOL) to this 1410 facility. That joined two separate histories: the long-running 1410 site and the younger 600 station that had started as KZIX in 1959. This page follows the 1410 facility only, not every station that has used the KIIX name.

    Ownership history

    The founders of the 1947 KCOL and the owners since haven’t been identified on this page yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1410 kHz AM
    • City: Fort Collins
    • On the air since: 1947
    • FCC Facility ID: 68966

    Call sign timeline

    • KCOL (1947 to 1999)
    • KIIX (Nov. 5, 1999 on)

    Sources

  • KCOL-AM

    KCOL (600 AM) has a bit of a shell game in its past. If you’ve ever scratched your head over why two Fort Collins-area AM stations seem to share one backstory, the answer is simple: they traded call letters.

    Which KCOL is which?

    Right now KCOL belongs to the 600 kHz AM signal, which is licensed to Wellington, Colorado, just north of Fort Collins. Before 1999 the name sat on a separate local AM at 1410 kHz, and the two stations swapped calls that year.

    The 600 AM story

    Back in January 1959 this signal began life as KZIX, licensed to Fort Collins, and it went by KIIX for a while after that. The swap landed on November 5, 1999, when the FCC record has KIIX heading to 1410 while KCOL took over at 600. Whatever came before that on 1410 under the KCOL name is a different facility’s story, so this page sticks to the 600 signal.

    Ownership history

    These days iHeartMedia owns 600 KCOL. Go back to August 1965 and you’d find Poudre Valley Broadcasting buying KZIX. Fast forward to 1998, when Clear Channel (an ancestor of iHeartMedia) spent $6.1 million to pick up KIIX along with KTCL (per Wikipedia). Who started KZIX in 1959 isn’t something we’ve pinned down yet.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KCOL on 600 yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 600 kHz AM
    • City of license: Wellington (Fort Collins area)
    • FCC Facility ID: 68685
    • Website: 600kcol.iheart.com

    Call sign timeline

    • KZIX (January 1959)
    • KIIX
    • KCOL (Nov. 5, 1999 on)

    Sources

  • KTRR-FM

    KTRR (102.5 FM, Retro 102.5) is the classic hits station for Northern Colorado. If you live between Fort Collins and Greeley and your playlist leans 70s, 80s and 90s, you probably know it well.

    From KLOV-FM to Retro

    The roots go back to February 2, 1966, when the station came on as KLOV-FM, the FM partner of KLOV-AM (now KXJJ). Early listeners heard the AM programming repeated, and then it shifted to automated easy listening. Through the 80s it blended easy listening with soft adult contemporary, and the KTRR calls replaced KLOV-FM in 1988.

    After that the station spent a long time in adult contemporary territory. As “TRI 102.5” it mostly did mainstream AC, with a short detour into hot AC. A more current-leaning sound arrived in 2015, and then on September 9, 2016 it flipped to classic hits built around the 70s through the 90s. If you remember the name Retro 102.5, that one showed up on March 22, 2019.

    Ownership history

    • 1966: the owners of KLOV-AM, the sister station that started the FM
    • Today: Townsquare Media of Fort Collins, Inc.

    The people behind KLOV and the owners in between haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 102.5 FM (also in HD Radio)
    • City of license: Loveland
    • Serves: Fort Collins and Greeley area
    • Format: classic hits
    • Owner/operator: Townsquare Media of Fort Collins, Inc.
    • First on the air: February 2, 1966
    • Former calls: KLOV-FM (1966 to 1988)
    • FCC Facility ID: 50375, Class C2
    • Power: 17,000 watts ERP, 234 meters above average terrain

    Sources