PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KIUP-AM

    KIUP (930 AM) is Durango’s oldest continuously operating radio station, on the air since 1935. If you’ve ever listened to ball games or local news in the Four Corners, there’s a good chance you’ve heard it.

    A tough start

    The idea for KIUP started when Durango businessman John Turner wondered whether a local station could survive the Great Depression. Ten area businessmen raised about $5,000 to get it going. The original construction permit was issued in the name of LeRoy Haley, an electrician and foreman at the Tacoma Power Plant.

    Haley died in an accident before the station opened, which delayed the project while the license paperwork went missing. KIUP started regular broadcasting on December 10, 1935.

    Ownership history

    • 1935: the idea came from Durango businessman John Turner, and ten area businessmen raised about $5,000; the construction permit was in the name of LeRoy Haley
    • Today: Four Corners Broadcasting

    The owners between 1936 and Four Corners Broadcasting haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1935 on: 2800 Main Avenue, Durango, for both studio and transmitter
    • Later: a facility south of Durango

    The Voice of the San Juan Basin

    The original studio and transmitter were at 2800 Main Avenue in Durango. In 1936 the 100-watt station used the slogan “The Voice of the San Juan Basin,” and its schedule mixed local news, farm reports, request shows, religious features, popular music and community information. It later moved to a facility south of Durango, where more than 3,000 people reportedly turned out for the grand opening.

    KIUP in the Four Corners

    KIUP later moved to 930 kHz and raised its daytime power to 5,000 watts. Under Four Corners Broadcasting, it became a sports-minded station with ESPN programming alongside local news, local sports, public affairs and live event coverage. The company bills it as Durango’s oldest and most powerful AM station.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 930 kHz AM
    • City of license: Durango
    • Daytime power: 5,000 watts

    Sources

  • KGIW-AM

    KGIW (1450 AM) is one of the oldest surviving radio call signs in southern Colorado, and it started life in Trinidad before moving to Alamosa. If you grew up in the San Luis Valley, this is a station your grandparents may have grown up with.

    From Trinidad to Alamosa

    By 1929 KGIW was on 1420 kHz in Trinidad, first tied to the Trinidad Creamery Co. and later to Leonard E. Wilson. In 1933 it received authorization to move from Trinidad to Alamosa, and it was operating there by 1934.

    The station later moved to 1450 kHz under the 1941 North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. KGIW is still on the air in Alamosa, which preserves a lineage reaching back to the late 1920s.

    Ownership history

    • 1929: the Trinidad Creamery Co., the first owner on record
    • Early 1930s: Leonard E. Wilson

    Owners after the move to Alamosa haven’t been identified on this page yet.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1929 to 1933: Trinidad, Colorado
    • 1933 to 1934 on: Alamosa, Colorado; street addresses haven’t turned up yet

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1450 kHz AM (1420 kHz in the early years)
    • City of license: Alamosa (Trinidad until the early 1930s)
    • Earliest listings: 1929

    Sources

  • KGHA-AM

    KGHA was one of Pueblo’s earliest broadcasting ventures, a short-lived late 1920s station. If you like the idea that Pueblo had radio before the Great Depression, this is one of the call signs that proves it.

    The 1928 record

    The Federal Radio Commission authorized George H. Sweeney and N. S. Walpole to build the station in late 1927, and a February 1928 construction permit specified 1430 kHz at 500 watts. A summer 1928 station directory lists KGHA in Pueblo at 1430 kHz and 500 watts under Sweeney and Walpole. After the nationwide reallocation that took effect November 11, 1928, KGHA is listed at 1200 kHz with 100 watts.

    This page is for the short-lived Pueblo station, not the later, unrelated uses of similar call letters.

    Ownership history

    • 1927 to 1928: George H. Sweeney and N. S. Walpole, the grantees and the owners on the summer 1928 directory

    Where the studios have been

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

    Timeline

    • December 1927: 500-watt grant to Sweeney and Walpole
    • February 1928: construction permit for 1430 kHz and 500 watts
    • Summer 1928: listed in Pueblo at 1430 kHz
    • November 1928: listed at 1200 kHz with 100 watts after the reallocation

    Sources

  • KGDP-AM

    KGDP was an early Pueblo radio station run by the Pueblo Council of the Boy Scouts of America. If you were a Scout in Pueblo in the late 1920s, this is the station your troop might have gathered around.

    Boy Scout operation

    KGDP was authorized in Pueblo in 1927. It belonged to the experimental, low-power days of local radio, before commercial stations were firmly established in the city. A 1927 to 1928 station listing puts it at 1340 kHz with just 10 watts, and a Radio Digest schedule shows regular Tuesday and Thursday evening programs, so it kept an organized schedule despite its tiny signal.

    The 1928 reallocation

    In the Federal Radio Commission’s nationwide reallocation effective November 11, 1928, KGDP moved from 1340 to 1210 kHz. Lists from the period still show the Pueblo Council of the Boy Scouts of America as the licensee.

    Ownership history

    • 1927 to about 1928: the Pueblo Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the licensee on period lists

    Where the studios have been

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

    Timeline

    • 1927: authorized in Pueblo
    • Early 1928: on 1340 kHz at 10 watts with scheduled evening programs
    • November 11, 1928: moved to 1210 kHz

    Sources

  • KFHY-AM

    KFHY was an early radio station in Trinidad, Colorado, listed in the federal station survey of June 30, 1923. If you’re into Trinidad history, it’s a small piece of how early the town got on the air.

    History

    The 1923 federal list shows R. S. McEwan as the licensee and puts KFHY on 1240 kilocycles. It also lists Trinidad’s KFBS, so there were two early stations in town. We don’t have KFHY’s power, studio location, program schedule or final date of operation.

    Ownership history

    • 1923: R. S. McEwan, the licensee on the June 1923 federal list

    Where the studios have been

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

    The details

    • Call sign: KFHY
    • Community: Trinidad, Colorado
    • Licensee: R. S. McEwan
    • Frequency: 1240 kHz (June 30, 1923)

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

    Sources

  • KFGB-AM

    KFGB was a 10-watt Pueblo radio station run by Lowenthal Brothers in 1923, one of the city’s very first licensed stations. If your family has deep Pueblo roots, this is the kind of tiny station your great-grandparents may have fiddled with a crystal set to catch.

    History

    KFGB was among the new licenses added in February 1923, and a March 1923 directory lists it at 10 watts with Lowenthal Brothers as the operator. It belongs to Pueblo’s first years of licensed broadcasting. We don’t have a full operating period, program schedule or studio address.

    Ownership history

    • 1923: Lowenthal Brothers, listed as the operator

    Where the studios have been

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

    The details

    • Call sign: KFGB
    • Community: Pueblo, Colorado
    • Operator: Lowenthal Brothers
    • Power: 10 watts (March 1923)
    • License: added February 1923

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

    Sources

  • KFFQ-AM

    KFFQ was a short-lived Colorado Springs radio station run by Marksheffel Motor Co. in 1923. If your family has a Marksheffel connection in the Springs, here’s a corner of that story you may not have heard.

    History

    KFFQ was licensed in February 1923 to Marksheffel Motor Co. and is listed in the June 1923 federal station list and at 10 watts in a March 1923 issue of E-Z Radio. It was deleted by 1924. It came along during the fast growth of licensed broadcasting in Colorado.

    We don’t have a studio address, program schedule or exact final broadcast date.

    Ownership history

    • February 1923 to about 1924: Marksheffel Motor Co., the only licensee on record

    Where the studios have been

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

    The details

    • Call sign: KFFQ
    • Community: Colorado Springs, Colorado
    • Licensee: Marksheffel Motor Co.
    • Power: 10 watts (March 1923)
    • License: added February 1923, deleted by 1924

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

    Sources

  • KFCK-AM

    KFCK was one of the early licensed radio stations in Colorado Springs, held by the Colorado Springs Radio Co. If you like finding out where radio in the Springs began, this is one of the first call signs on the list.

    History

    KFCK was licensed to the Colorado Springs Radio Co. and listed on 1240 kilocycles at 10 watts in the June 30, 1923 federal station list. We don’t have a studio address, program log, audience figures or a complete operating period for it.

    Ownership history

    • 1923: Colorado Springs Radio Co., the licensee on the June 1923 federal list

    Where the studios have been

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

    The details

    • Call sign: KFCK
    • Community: Colorado Springs, Colorado
    • Licensee: Colorado Springs Radio Co.
    • Frequency: 1240 kHz (1923)
    • Power: 10 watts (1923)

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

    Sources

  • KFBS-AM

    KFBS was one of the earliest radio stations in Trinidad, Colorado, on the air in the first years of licensed broadcasting. If your family goes back to 1920s Trinidad, this is the town’s early radio story.

    History

    KFBS was licensed in Trinidad in the early 1920s. Period references tie it to Trinidad Gas & Electric Supply Co. and the Chronicle-News, and a later Colorado school directory ties it to School District No. 1. A June 1923 federal list shows both KFBS and KFHY in Trinidad.

    We don’t have the station’s full operating timeline, final broadcast date or studio location. If you know more, we’d love to hear from you.

    Ownership history

    • Early 1920s: tied to Trinidad Gas & Electric Supply Co. and the Chronicle-News
    • Later listing: School District No. 1

    Where the studios have been

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

    The details

    • Call sign: KFBS
    • Community: Trinidad, Colorado
    • Associations: Trinidad Gas & Electric Supply Co.; Chronicle-News; School District No. 1 (later listing)

    Sources

  • KHD-AM

    KHD was one of the earliest radio stations in Colorado Springs, a tiny 1922 license held by a marble and granite company. If you like the idea that radio in the Springs started with a stonework business, this one’s for you.

    History

    KHD was licensed to C. F. Aldrich Marble & Granite Co. A 1922 U.S. Department of Commerce listing put the station on the 485-meter wavelength, which was set aside for market and weather reports. The license was deleted on March 20, 1923.

    KHD shows up in the period when federal radio lists identified stations by call sign, licensee and wavelength. The records we have document the company that held the license and its market-and-weather service, but not a street address, a program schedule or an audience.

    Ownership history

    • 1922 to March 20, 1923: C. F. Aldrich Marble & Granite Co., the only licensee on record

    Where the studios have been

    The federal listings don’t give a street address for KHD. If you know where it was, we’d love to hear from you.

    The details

    • Call sign: KHD
    • Community: Colorado Springs, Colorado
    • Licensee: C. F. Aldrich Marble & Granite Co.
    • Wavelength: 485 meters (1922 listing)
    • Service: market and weather reports
    • License deleted: March 20, 1923

    This is a short page built from federal records. If your family has stories about KHD or the Aldrich company, we’d love to hear them.

    Sources