PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KVRH-FM

    KVRH-FM (92.3) is the FM side of Salida radio. If you’ve driven through the Arkansas Valley with the dial set to “The Peak,” you’ve heard it.

    How it started

    KVRH-FM signed on in Salida in 1971, originally at 92.1 MHz, as the FM companion to the AM station on 1340. You can read about the AM side on the KVRH page. Somewhere along the way the FM moved up a notch to 92.3.

    Ownership history

    The FM shared owners with the AM station, including William J. Murphy in the 1960s, as listed on the KVRH page. Who built the FM in 1971 and who owns it today haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

    KVRH-FM’s studios today are at 7600 County Road 120 in Salida, shared with its sister stations in the Heart of the Rockies Radio group. Earlier studio addresses haven’t turned up yet, so if you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 92.3 FM (originally 92.1)
    • City of license: Salida
    • On the air since: 1971
    • Brand: The Peak
    • FCC Facility ID: 1020
    • Status: active

    Sources

  • KFLJ-AM

    KFLJ (1380 AM) was the AM station serving Walsenburg and Huerfano County from 1957 until it went silent in 1988. If you grew up in Walsenburg in the 60s or 70s, this was your local station.

    History

    KFLJ was a small-market local station in southern Colorado, owned in its early years by Floyd Jeter. It gave Walsenburg and nearby communities a local broadcast service. It went off the air in 1988, and the FCC dismissed its renewal application in 1992, which ended its licensed operation. This page isn’t about the later FM stations licensed to Walsenburg.

    Ownership history

    • Early years: Floyd Jeter

    Later owners haven’t been identified yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1380 kHz AM
    • Community: Walsenburg, Colorado
    • First broadcast: 1957
    • Went silent: 1988
    • License action: renewal dismissed, 1992
    • Early owner: Floyd Jeter

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

    Sources

  • KAVI-AM

    KAVI (1320 AM) was Rocky Ford’s AM station, on the air from October 16, 1956, until the FCC cancelled its license in 2023. If you grew up in the Arkansas Valley, this station was probably around for most of your life.

    History

    KAVI served Rocky Ford and nearby communities and, for many years, was paired with sister station KAVI-FM. Its programming was rooted in the Arkansas Valley. The AM and FM later went different ways. The FM moved through several call signs on 95.5 MHz, including KOOO, KJQY and KPHT, while the AM stayed on 1320 kHz until the cancellation ended its licensed service. The KAVI name remains part of the region’s radio history.

    Ownership history

    The founders and owners of KAVI AM haven’t been identified yet. If you know who signed it on in 1956, we’d love to hear from you.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1320 kHz AM
    • Community: Rocky Ford, Colorado
    • First broadcast: October 16, 1956
    • Service area: Arkansas Valley
    • Related FM: KAVI-FM, later KOOO, KJQY and KPHT
    • License: cancelled by the FCC in 2023

    Sources

  • KVFC-AM

    KVFC (740 AM) is the commercial news and talk station in Cortez, Colorado, serving the Four Corners. If you’ve lived in southwestern Colorado, you’ve likely heard it, and it has been around since 1955.

    History

    KVFC was first licensed in 1955 to Cortez businessman Jack Hawkins, and Hawkins and Barney Hubbs set it up as a local voice for Cortez and southwestern Colorado. The call letters tie back to “The Voice of the Four Corners.” Hawkins stayed closely connected to the station, and Hawkins Street in Cortez, where the station is based, is named for him.

    Over time KVFC became a regional news and talk outlet with national network programming and local coverage. An FM translator carries the programming on 92.3 MHz in Cortez.

    Ownership history

    • 1955: Cortez businessman Jack Hawkins, the first licensee, with Barney Hubbs
    • Today: Hutton Broadcasting, LLC

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

    Where the studios have been

    • Today: Hawkins Street, Cortez, named for the founder; the full address isn’t listed here

    The signal

    • Frequency: 740 kHz AM
    • City of license: Cortez, Colorado
    • Format: news and talk
    • Owner/operator: Hutton Broadcasting, LLC
    • First licensed: 1955
    • FCC facility ID: 16434
    • Class: B AM
    • Power: 1,000 watts daytime, 250 watts at night
    • Translator: K222AD, 92.3 MHz, Cortez
    • Sister stations: KENN, KRTZ

    Sources

  • KSLV-AM

    KSLV (1240 AM) was the call sign of the AM station serving Monte Vista and the San Luis Valley from 1954 until 2019. If you grew up in the valley, you may remember hearing it for most of your life.

    History

    KSLV signed on in 1954 and served communities across the San Luis Valley for more than six decades. It kept the KSLV call letters on 1240 kHz through 2019, when the AM station became KBGV. The separate KSLV-FM kept the KSLV call sign, so the AM and FM services have their own records.

    Ownership history

    The founders and owners of KSLV haven’t been identified yet. If you know who signed it on in 1954, we’d love to hear from you.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1240 kHz AM
    • Community: Monte Vista, Colorado
    • First broadcast: 1954
    • KSLV period: 1954 to 2019
    • Next AM call sign: KBGV
    • Service area: San Luis Valley

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

    Sources

  • KVRH-AM

    KVRH (1340 AM) was Salida’s local radio voice from 1948 to 2017, broadcasting from a log cabin studio with a transmitter up on the mesa. If you grew up in the Upper Arkansas Valley, this was probably the station your family listened to.

    The KVRH years

    KVRH signed on in Salida in 1948 on 1340 kHz with 250 watts. A local museum account describes a log-cabin studio and a mesa transmitter in the early days. Later Radio Annual listings show William J. Murphy as owner and general manager, and the station settled in as a long-running local voice for the valley.

    The KVRH calls stayed on 1340 AM until June 29, 2017, when the facility changed to KGKG. The 1340 AM signal carries on under its new calls, and KVRH is preserved here as its historic identity.

    Ownership history

    • By the 1960s: William J. Murphy, listed as owner and general manager in the 1964 Radio Annual

    The 1948 founders and the later owners haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

    • Early days: a log-cabin studio in Salida, with the transmitter on the mesa

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1340 kHz AM
    • City of license: Salida
    • Power (1948): 250 watts
    • KVRH period: 1948 to June 29, 2017

    Sources

  • KRLN-AM

    KRLN (1400 AM) served Cañon City for nearly eight decades, from August 15, 1947, to its final broadcast on January 1, 2025. If you grew up in Fremont County, chances are this station was part of your family’s morning.

    How it started

    Raymond M. Becker and Melvin B. Williams founded the station as Royal Gorge Broadcasters, and it signed on at 1400 kHz. FCC history cards preserve the early licensee and operating record.

    Ownership history

    • 1947: Royal Gorge Broadcasters, founded by Raymond M. Becker and Melvin B. Williams
    • Final years: Royal Gorge Broadcasting, which announced the closure in December 2024

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

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found street addresses for the KRLN studios yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Over the years

    For many years KRLN ran on set hours and signed off earlier than full-time stations on 1400 AM. It received authorization for 24-hour operation in 1972. Later it carried adult contemporary, talk and oldies, and by the late 1990s talk was a major part of the schedule.

    The end of the run

    Royal Gorge Broadcasting announced in December 2024 that KRLN and sister station KSTY would close. KRLN’s final broadcast was January 1, 2025. The FCC cancelled the license on July 15, 2026, well after the broadcasting had stopped.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1400 kHz AM
    • City of license: Cañon City, Colorado
    • First broadcast: August 15, 1947
    • 24-hour authorization: 1972
    • Last broadcast: January 1, 2025
    • FCC license cancellation: July 15, 2026

    Sources

  • KCRT-AM

    KCRT (1240 AM) began in Trinidad in 1946 and became one of Southern Colorado’s most durable local radio stations. If you grew up in Trinidad or Las Animas County, this has probably been part of your life for years.

    Early operation

    A 1948 Broadcasting directory lists KCRT on 1240 kHz at 250 watts with a Colorado network affiliation. By 1952, an AM directory shows Mel-Bert Broadcasting Company as the licensee, with the station at 108 North Maple Street.

    The 1954 Broadcasting Yearbook lists KCRT Inc. as the owner and shows Mutual, KBS and Inter-Mountain affiliations, a typical mix of network programming and local service for a small-market station of that era.

    Ownership history

    • 1952: Mel-Bert Broadcasting Company
    • 1954: KCRT Inc.

    The founders in 1946 and the owners after the 1950s haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1952: 108 North Maple Street, Trinidad

    Staying put

    Unlike many early Colorado call signs, KCRT stayed with the Trinidad 1240 facility for decades. Later station listings continued to show it as a local service for Trinidad and Las Animas County.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1240 kHz AM
    • City of license: Trinidad
    • Power (1948): 250 watts
    • Studio (1952): 108 North Maple Street

    Sources

  • KOKO-AM

    KOKO (1400 AM) was the original call sign of La Junta’s 1400 AM, on the air from 1937. If you grew up in the Arkansas Valley, the station you may know today as KBLJ goes back to this one.

    The KOKO years

    KOKO started in La Junta in 1937 on 1370 kHz. When the 1941 North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement took effect, the station moved to 1400 kHz, which became its long-term home. The KOKO identity lasted until 1952, when the call letters changed. A March 1939 FCC list shows KOKO in La Junta on 1370 kHz, within its first two years.

    Ownership history

    • Late 1930s: Southwest Broadcasting Co., which also held KIDW in Lamar

    The founders and the owners after that haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    What came next

    The 1400 AM facility went on to carry the calls KBNZ and KBZZ before it became KBLJ in 1999. The branding and programming have changed over the years, and the present KBLJ website describes the station as serving the Arkansas Valley since 1937. Its local lineup includes This, That, and the Other, a community interview program the station calls the valley’s longest-running radio show.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1400 kHz AM (1370 kHz originally)
    • City of license: La Junta
    • KOKO period: 1937 to 1952

    Sources

  • KIDW-AM

    KIDW (1420 AM) was an early Lamar radio station, a 100-watt signal from the 1930s. If your family goes back to the Lamar area, this is where its radio history begins.

    History

    KIDW operated on 1420 kHz with 100 watts and shared time with Alamosa’s KGIW. Later listings show both KIDW and La Junta’s KOKO under Southwest Broadcasting Co. Federal station lists still show KIDW as licensed and active later in the 1930s. We’re still piecing together what became of the station after that.

    Ownership history

    • Later 1930s: Southwest Broadcasting Co., which also held KOKO in La Junta

    The earlier owners haven’t been identified yet.

    Where the studios have been

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

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1420 kHz AM
    • Power: 100 watts
    • City of license: Lamar, Colorado
    • Licensee (later listings): Southwest Broadcasting Co.

    This is a short page built from federal records. If you know more about KIDW, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources